GIFT   OF 


-MODERN  HISTORY;' 


FROM   THE 


ra  0f 


AND   THE 


0f  \t    mro    UHit  int0  n 


TO   THE 

YEAR  OF   OUR  LORD  1854. 
BY  PETER  FREDET,  D.D. 

FROFESSOB   OF  HISTORY  IN   ST.  MART'S  COLLEGE,  BALTIMORE,   AUTHOK  OF 
"ANCntST  HISTORT." 


Historia  testis  temporum,  lui  Yerttatie,  vita  vemoriae,  ma^istra  vitae,  ntmtia  vestutatis. 

Oicer.  lib.  ii.  de  Orat.  c.  ix.,  n.  36. 


Eleventh  Edition,  carefully  Revised,  Enlarged  and  Improved. 


BALTIMORE: 
PUBLISHED  BY  JOHN  MURPHY  &  CO. 

No.  178  MARKET  STREET. 

PITTSBURG....GEORGE  QUIGLEY. 

LONDON....C.  DOLMAN,  No.  61  NEW  BOND  STREET. 

1855. 


Kuk-red.  *v,ording  to  the  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  eighteen  hundred  and  fifty,  by 

JOHN     MURPHY     A     CO., 
in  the  Clerk's  office  of  the  District  Court  of  Marvlan-1. 


PREFACE. 


THE  utility  of  History  as  a  branch  of  public  and  private  instruction 
has  always  been  admitted.  Cicero  calls  it  "the  witness  of  ages,  the 
torch  of  truth,  the  life  of  memory,  the  oracle  of  life,  the  interpreter 
of  the  past,"  and  does  not  hesitate  to  say,  that  "to  be  ignorant  of 
what  has  happened  before  one's  birth,  is  nothing  less  than  to  remain 
in  a  continual  state  of  childhood."  (Cicer.  in  oral.  n.  xxxiv).  Plu- 
tarch informs  us  that  Cato  the  Censor,  whose  name  and  eminent 
qualities  reflected  so  much  honor  upon  the  last  days  of  the  Roman 
Republic,  composed  for  his  infant  son,  and,  with  his  own  hand, 
wrote  in  large  characters,  a  description  of  remarkable  actions  taken 
from  the  lives  of  illustrious  Romans;  in  order,  said  he,  that  this  child 
might  be  enabled,  from  his  very  infancy,  and  without  leaving  the  pa- 
ternal roof,  to  become  acquainted  with  the  great  men  of  his  country, 
and  to  imitate  those  ancient  models  of  probity  and  virtue. 

History  is  an  immense  repository,  whence  we  may,  with  little  la- 
bor, derive  extensive  knowledge,  and  draw  many  instructive  and 
useful  lessons ;  nor  is  there  any  study  (except  that  of  Religion)  bet- 
ter calculated  to  improve  all  the  faculties  of  the  soul.  By  its  means, 
the  memory  is  furnished  with  a  multitude  of  interesting  events; 
the  judgment  continually  improves,  from  the  assiduous  attention 
which  is  given  to  objects  well  deserving  of  notice ;  and  experience, 
so  necessary  in  life,  is  easily  acquired,  because  we  appropriate  to 
ourselves  that  of  others,  and  become  wise  at  their  expense.  History 
conduces  also  wonderfully  to  the  improvement  of  the  heart :  every 
where  it  affords  moral  examples  adapted  to  the  different  stations  and 
conditions  of  social  life ;  every  where  it  presents  to  our  imitation 
models  of  courage,  of  patriotism,  probity,  disinterestedness,  generous 
sentiments  and  heroic,  actions.  Its  pages,  indeed,  are  frequently  filled 
with  the  narrative  of  various  crimes;  but  these  it  mentions  only  to 
inspire  us  with  horror  for  them,  and  to  convince  every  one,  that  un- 
ruly passions,  besides  degrading  humanity,  generally  prove  the  cause 
of  the  subversien  of  empires,  not  less  than  of  the  ruin  of  private  in- 
dividuals and  families. 


17  PREFACE. 

History  gives  us  another  very  important  instruction,  in  the  continual 
change  and  succession  of  kingdoms  and  empires.  There  we  behold 
the  all-wise  and  powerful  Providence  of  God  displaying  itself  in  the 
course  of  human  affairs;  sometimes  granting  to  his  people  good  and 
virtuous  rulers ;  at  other  times,  permitting  political  storms  to  burst 
forth,  wars  to  rage,  and  wicked  men  to  reign  for  the  chastisement  of 
nations;  then  restoring  tranquillity,  and  rendering  subservient  to  his 
designs,  even  those  events  in  which  our  limited  reason  can  per- 
ceive only  the  agency  of  creatures.  Thus  we  are  taught  to  humble 
ourselves  under  the  mighty  hand  of  God,  to  refer  every  prosperous 
effect  to  Him,  as  its  only  real  and  independent  cause,  and  to  expect 
from  Him  alone  a  lasting  happiness. 

These  advantages  are  to  be  found  chiefly  in  Modern  History,  which 
extending  to  many  more  countries  than  the  history  of  former  ages, 
presents  us  with  more  numerous  and  remarkable  instances  of  the  ef- 
fects of  divine  justice  upon  kings  and  nations.  It  likewise  abounds, 
much  more  than  the  periods  long  since  past,  in  heroic  deeds,  and,  in- 
cluding the  times  of  the  Christian  era,  exhibits  a  much  greater  mul- 
titude of  personages  worthy  of  being  proposed  as  models  of  virtue, 
than  could  ever  be  afforded  by  the  ancient  Greeks  and  Romans. 
Hence,  Modern  History,  though  generally  little  known,  should  be 
considered  as  peculiarly  important  and  useful:  not  indeed,  as  we  find 
it  in  the  works  of  many  recent  authors,  such  as  Hume,  Gibbon,  and 
others,  whose  partiality,  prejudice,  or  even  irreligion,  appears  in  al- 
most every  page  of  their  works ;  but,  as  it  ought  to  be  presented 
to  the  reader,  in  a  spirit  of  candor  and  impartiality,  after  a  sincere 
and  diligent  research  on  the  part  of  the  writer. 

The  present  course  includes  all  the  time  which  has  elapsed  from 
the  coming  of  Christ,  and  even  from  the  battle  of  Actium  (B.  c.  31), 
to  the  age  in  which  we  live.  Although  a  shorter  duration  than  this 
is  commonly,  though  arbitrarily,  assigned  to  Modern  History,  we 
have  thought  proper  to  refer  its  beginning  to  the  memorable  epoch 
which  is  termed  in  the  Scripture  the  fulness  of  times,  (Ephes.  i.  10), 
and  which  nearly  coincides  with  the  change  of  the  Roman  Republic 
into  an  Empire  after  the  battle  of  Actium.  Thus,  in  reckoning  from 
the  dispersion  of  the  sons  of  Noah,  and  following  the  division  of 
Sacred  History  into  two  chief  parts,  the  Ancient  and  the  New  Law, 
we  have  a  similar  and  very  natural  division  of  the  civil  history  itself 
into  two  grand  portions,  the  one  before,  the  other  after  the  coming 
of  Christ;  and  whilst  we  take  a  view  of  the  civilized  world  during 
the  last  eighteen  hundred  years,  we  also  perceive  the  connexion 
which  it  had  with  the  Christian  Church  from  her  foundation. 

To  treat  of  each  nation  separately,  is  not  the  object  of  the  present 
work;  we  are  not  writing  a  collection  of  particular  histories,  but  a 


PREFACE.  V 

general  one:  nor,  on  the  other  hand,  is  it  our  intention  to  confine  our 
selves,  as  is  too  frequently  done,  to  a  meagre  outline  of  names,  dates 
and  facts,  without  mentioning  their  necessary  circumstances;  but, 
by  selecting  from  the  best  historians  of  the  different  nations,  whatever 
is  most  important  and  worthy  of  notice,  to  present,  as  far  as  possible, 
a  detailed  and  connected  view  of  the  whole.  Nothing  more  can  be 
reasonably  expected  from  an  elementary  course  of  this  class  :  if  it  omits 
no  essential  fact  or  circumstance,  and,  at  the  same  time,  does  not  im- 
pede the  progress  of  the  narrative  by  introducing  numberless  events 
of  secondary  importance,  surely  nothing  more  can  be  desired  in  this 
respect,  either  for  instruction  or  amusement.  There  is  no  other  means 
of  imparting,  in  an  interesting  manner,  a  sufficient  knowledge  of 
History.  Should  any  disadvantage  occasionally  arise  from  this  plan, 
it  will  be  compensated  by  synoptical  and  chronological  tables;  and, 
moreover,  facts  of  an  extraordinary  nature,  or  which  have  been  com- 
monly misrepresented  in  modern  publications,  will  be  illustrated  by 
notes  placed  in  the  latter  part  of  the  volume. 

As  a  conclusion  of  these  preliminary  remarks,  and  an  immediate 
introduction  to  Modern  History,  some  idea  must  be  given  of  the  po- 
litical disturbances  which  so  long  agitated  ancient  Rome,  and  termi- 
nated in  the  destruction  of  the  Commonwealth. 

The  Romans,  by  their  invincible  patience  and  constancy  during 
seven  hundred  years,  had  conquered  almost  the  whole  of  the  then 
known  world,  viz.  Italy,  Gaul,  Spain,  Northern  Africa,  Egypt,  Sy- 
ria, Asia  Minor,  Greece,  Illyria,  etc.  But,  at  the  same  time,, aft 
kinds  of  vices  were  introduced.  Love  of  country,  and  respect  for 
the  laws  were  gradually  superseded  by  luxury,  avarice,  intrigues, 
and  an  almost  universal  corruption.  Public  employments  and  dig- 
nities, the  emoluments  of  which  had  increased,  were  solicited  with 
extraordinary  avidity;  ambitious  candidates  sought  only  to  flatter  the 
people;  and  generals  of  the  same  character  strained  every  nerve  to 
gain  the  troops  over  to  their  party,  even  resorting  to  extravagant 
promises  and  presents,  in  order  to  attain  their  object. 

Sylla,  having  obtained,  after  his  great  victories,  the  Dictatorship 
for  life,  proved  to  the  world  that  Rome  could  endure  a  master ;  like 
him,  Pompey  and  Julius  Caesar  successively  rendered  themselves 
all-powerful.  The  violent  death  of  the  latter,  who  was  slain  in  the 
Senate,  augmented,  instead  of  lessening  the  evil.  There  were  now 
three  competitors  for  the  supreme  power:  Antony,  Lepidus,  and  the 
young  Octavius,  grand-nephew  and  adopted  son  of  CaBsar.  During 
their  triumvirate,  all  in  Rome  who  were  most  remarkable  for  their 
courage  and  their  opposition  to  tyranny,  were  destroyed :  Cicero  was 
put  to  death;  Brutus  and  Cassius  were  defeated  at  Philippi;  and 
with  them  expired  the  liberty  of  tlfe  Roman  people. 


VI  PREFACE. 

Octavius  and  Antony,  having  removed  the  feeble  Lepidus,  made 
various  agreements  respecting  the  division  of  power;  but  the  young 
Caesar,  more  dexterous  than  his  colleague,  always  found  means  to 
obtain  the  better  share,  gained  the  popular  favor  in  Rome,  and  ra- 
pidly advanced  to  the  sovereign  authority.  Antony,  in  his  attempts  to 
repair  his  losses,  engaged  in  a  civil  war,  which  served  only  to  accele- 
rate his  utter  ruin :  his  defeat  in  the  battle  of  Actium,  and  his  death 
which  followed  soon  after,  left  Octavius  undisputed  master.  This 
memorable  event,  which  took  place  in  the  year  722  after  the  building 
of  Rome,  and  31  before  the  coming  of  Christ,  brings  us  to  the  be- 
ginning of  our  course  of  Modern  History,  which  includes  eight  parts 
or  epochs,  in  the  following  order: 

The  first  part  comprises  the  time  which  elapsed  from  the  battle  of 
Actium  (B.  c.  31),  to  the  accession  of  Constantine  (A.  D.  306);  in- 
cluding 337  years. 

The  2d from  the  accession  of  Constantine  (A.  D.  306), 

to  the  fall  of  the  Roman  Empire  in  the  West  (A.  D.  476); 

170  years. 

The  3d from  the  fall  of  the  Roman  empire  in  the  West 

(A.  D.  476),  to  its  revival  under  Charlemagne  (A.  D.  800); 

324  years. 

The  4th from  the  revival  of  the  Western  Empire  under 

Charlemagne  (A.  D.  800),  to  the  beginning  of  the  Crusades,  (A.  D. 
1095); 295  years. 

The  5th from  the  beginning  of  the  Crusades  (A.  D.  1095), 

to  their  termination  (A.  D.  1272); 177  years. 

The  6th from  the  end  of  the  Crusades  (A.  D.  1272),  to 

the  discovery  of  America  (A.  D.  1492); 220  years. 

The  7th from  the  discovery  of  America  (A.  D.  1492),  to 

the  Treaty  of  Versailles,  or  Paris,  in  which  the  Independence  of  the 
United  States  was  solemnly  and  universally  acknowledged  (A.  D. 
1783); 291  years. 

The  8th from  the  Treaty  of  Paris  (A.  D.  1783),  to  A.  D 

1854; 71  years. 


Baltimore,  September  1854. 


CONTENTS. 


PART  I. 


FROM  THE   BATTLE  OF  ACTIUM  (B.  C.  31),  TO  THE  ACCESSION  OF 
CONSTANTINE  (A.  D.  306). 


ROMAN  EMPIRE, .kj£  13 

Augustus, .j&t-  ib. 

Tiberius, 23 

Caligula, ^  33 

Claudius, /  ^*  35 

Nenj...^. ».WT.  38 

Galba— Otho— Vitellius, ......  44 

Vespasian, 48 

Titus, 54 

Domitian, 56 

i-  Nerva— Trajan, 59 

r    Adrian, 61 

Antoninus  Pius, *.  65 

Marcus  Aurelius, 68 

Commodus— Pertinax— Didius 

Julianus, 69 


Page 

Septimius  Severus, 70 

C  aracall  a — Macrinus—Helioga- 

balus, 77 

Alexander  Severus, 78 

Military  Usurpers, 83 

Claudius  II, 85 

Aurelian, 87 

Interregnum — Tacitus, 90 

Probus, ,'f ib. 

Carus,  and  his  two  sons  Cari- 

nus  and  Numerian, 92 

Diocletian  and  Maximian;   af- 
terwards Constantius  Chlorus 

and  Galerius, ib. 


PART  II. 


FROM  THE  ACCESSION  OF  CONSTANTINE  (A.  D.  306),  TO  THE  DOWNFALL 
OF  THE  ROMAN  EMPIRE  IN  THE  WEST  (A.  D.  476). 


Pa<?e 

Constantino  the  Great, 98 

Constantius,  and  his  brothers 

Constantino  II  and  Constans,  107 

Julian, 109 

Jovian, 113 

Valentinian  and  Valens, 114 

Theodosius  the  Great— Gratian 

and  Valentinian  II, 116 


Page 

Honorius  and  Arcadius, 123 

Valentinian  III,  in  the  West; 
in  the  East,  Theodosius  II, 

or  the  Younger, 126 

Marcian — Leo  the  Thracian,  in 
the  East — Last  period  and 
fall  of  the  Western  Empire,  131 


VU1 


CONTENTS. 


PART  III. 

FROM  THE    DOWNFALL  OF   THE    WESTERN    EMPIRE    (A.  D.  476),  TO 
ITS  REVIVAL  UNDER  CHARLEMAGNE  (A.  D.  800). 

top  Page 

Foundation  of  the  principal  and  Conquests  of  the   Saracens  in 

most  celebrated  States  of  Eu-  Egypt, 169 

rope, 135     in  Persia,  Rhodes  and 

Anglo-Saxons  in  Great  Britain-  other  countries, 171 

Hengist, ib.  Dissensions   among  the    Sara- 
Visigoths  in  Spain— Evaric,. . .  186        cens, 174 

Franks  in  Gaul— Clovis, 138  Prosperity  of  the  Greek  empire 

Ostrogoths  in  Italy— Theodoric  under  Constantino  Pogonatus,    ib. 

the  Great, 140  Conquests  of  the  Saracens  in 

Emperors  of  Constantinople, . .  142        Africa, 176 

Justin  I, ib in  Spain,. ...  179 

Glorious  reign  of  Justinian,.. ..  144  Saracens  defeated  in  the  East — 

Justin  II— Tiberius  II, 153        Leo  the  Isaurian, 181 

Mauritius, 157  Saracens  defeated  in  France — 

Phocas, 161        Charles  M  artel, 182 

Heraclius, 162    Pepin,  king  of  France, 184 

Rise  of  Mahometanism, 164  Charlemagne,  king  of  France 

Progress  of  Mahometanism, . . .  167        and  Lombardy, 186 

Conquests  of  the   Saracens  in  Remarks  on  the  state  of  civil- 
Syria,  Palestine  and  Mesopo-  ization,  learning,  and  particu- 

tamia, ib.  larly  religion,  during  the  third 

part  of  modern  history, 192 


PART  IV. 

FROM  THE  REVIVAL  OF  THE  WESTERN  EMPIRE  (A.  D.  800),  TO  TH« 
BEGINNING  OF  THE  CRUSADES  (A.   D.  1095). 


Page 

Charlemagne,  Emperor, 196 

Louis  the  Debonnaire,  and  his 

sons — Feudal  system,.. 200 

Arabian  and  Greek  Empires  du- 
ring the  ninth  century, 201 

Spain  during  the  ninth  and  tenth 

centuries, 205 

^England  during  the  ninth  and 

tenth  centuries, 209 

France   and    Germany  in    the 

tenth  and  eleventh  centuries,  214 
Eastern  nations  in  the  tenth  and 
eleventh  centuries...  ,.  217 


Pace 
Ireland,  particularly  during  the 

tenth  and  eleventh  centuries,  220 
Danish  kings  in  England — Sax- 
on line    restored, 222 

Normans  in  England — William 

the  Conqueror, 224 

Normans  in  Italy 227 

Chivalry,  particularly  in  Spain 
— Rise    of  the    kingdom  of 

Portugal, 228 

Affair  of  Investitures, 230 

Remarks  on  the  Middle  Ages — 
Truce  of  God, ' 232 


7 


CONTENTS. 


PART  V, 


.  FROM  THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE  CRUSADES  (A.  D.  1095),  TO  THKIK 
END  (A.  T.  1272). 


P.i  26 

Origin  and  causes  of  the  Cru- 
sades,  239 

First  Crusade, 240 

General  view  of  the  first  Cru- 
sade.— Keturn  of  the  Cru- 
saders,   250 

Kingdom  of  Jerusalem, 252 

Second  Crusade, 255 

Germany  and  Italy  under  Fre- 
deric I  (Barbarossa). — Eng- 
land and  Ireland  under  Henry 

II  (Plantagenet)., 257 

Fall  of  the  kingdom  of  Jerusa- 
lem  260 


Third  Crusade, 2^82 

Fourth  Crusade, 269 

Fifth  Crusade. — Foundation  of 
the  Latin  empire  of  Constan- 
tinople,  270 

Wars  throughout  Europe, 274 

Conquests  of  Genghis -Kan  in 

Asia, 279 

Sixth  Crusade, 281 

Seventh  Crusade.— St.  Louis,...  284 
St.  Louis  continued.-Civil  war 

in  England, 287 

Eighth  and  last  Crusade, 288 

Remarks  on  the  Crusades, 292 


PART  VI, 

rmOM  THE  END  OF  THE    CRUSADES  (A.    D.  1272),  TO  THE   DISCOVERY  Of 
AMERICA  (A.  D.  1492). 


Page 
England,  Wales,  and  Scotland, 

under  kings  Edward  I  and  II,  298 
Germany  under    the    emperor 
Rodolph  of  Hapsburg.-Com- 
mencement  of  the  Helvetian 

Confederation, 299 

Prosecution  and  abolition  of  the 

Knights-Templars, 302 

Progress  of   the  Christians   of 
Spain,  and    signal    victories 

over  the  Moors, 304 

War  between  France  and  Eng- 
land,  306 

Edward    III  of   England    and 

Philip  VI  of  France, ib. 

Edward  III  and  John  II, 310 

Edward  III  and  Charles  V,.. . .  313 
Rise  of   the  Ottoman  empire, 
and  its  progress,  till  the  bat- 
tle of  Nicopolis, 817 


Page 
Tamerlane  and  the  Moguls. — 

Battle  of  Ancyra, 321 

Renewal  of  war  between  Eng- 
land and  France, 324 

Henry  V  and  Charles  VI, 325 

Henry  VI  and  Charles  VII,....  327 

Fall  of  Constantinople, 331 

Mahomet  II  continued, 337 

Mahomet  II  and  Hunniades,..  338 
Mahomet  II  and  Scanderbeg, . .  340 
Mahomet  II  and  Peter  d'Aubus- 

son, 342 

Contest  of  the  houses  of  Lan- 
caster and  York  in  England,  344 
Ferdinand  and  Isabella. — Final 
overthrow  of  the   Moors  in 

Spain, 347 

Remarks  on  the  discoveries 
made  during  the  sixth  period 
of  Modern  History, 830 


CONTENTS. 


PART    VII. 

FROM  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA  (A.  D.  1492),  TO  THE  TREATY  OF 
VERSAILLES,  OR  PARIS,  IN  WHICH  THE  INDEPENDENCE  OF  THE  UNr- 
TED  STATES  WAS  SOLEMNLY  AND  UNIVERSALLY  ACKNOWLEDGED 

(A.  D.  1783). 


Page 

Preliminary  observations  on 
America, 252 

Discovery  of  America. — Chris- 
topher Columbus, 254 

Portuguese  settlements  in  Asia,  361 
Decline  of  the  Italian  republics. 
— Wars  for  the  possession  of 
Italy. — Cardinal   Ximenes. — 

Pope  Leo  X, 364 

Luther  and  the  Reformation,.. .  367 

Charles  V  and  Francis  I, 369 

Charles  V  and  Soliman  II,. ...  371 
Conquest  of  Mexico. — Hernan- 

do  Cortez, 374 

Conquest  of  Peru. — Francis  Pi- 

zarro, .'.  383 

Charles  V  continued. — Acces- 
sion  of  Philip  II,   and   first 
transactions  of  his  reign,. . . .  385 
England  under  the  Tudors, ....  387 
War  against  the  Turks. — Siege 
of  Malta.-Loss  of  Cyprus. — 

Battle  of  Lepanto, 389 

Philip  II  continued. — The  re- 
public of  Holland. — France 
under  the  last  Valois  and 
Henry  IV. — General  state  of 
Europe  in  the  beginning  of 

the  seventeenth  century, 396 

The  Thirty  years  war, 399 

Civil  war  in  England. — Com- 
monwealth.— Restoration,...  401 


British  and  French  colonies  in 
North  America, 405 

Splendor  of  the  Reign  of  Louis 
XIV,. 407 

War  of  Flanders,  of  Candia, 
etc., 409 

War  of  Holland— and  subse- 
quent events  till  the  league 
of  Augsburg, 411 

League  of  Augsburg. — Revolu- 
tion in  England, 415 

Succession  01  Spain. — Death  of 
Louis  XIV, 417 

Decline  of  the  Turks, 422 

Rise  of  Prussia  and  Russia. — 
Peter  the  Great.— Charles 
XII,  king  of  Sweden, 424 

Western  Europe  from  the  death 
of  Louis  XIV  in  1715  to  the 
treaty  of  Vienna  in  1735, 426 

Eastern  Europe.-Tharaas  Kouli 
Kan,  or  Nadir  Schah,  the 
Persian  conqueror,  etc., 427 

War  of  the  succession  of  Aus- 
tria.— The  Pretender  in  Eng- 
land and  Scotland, 429 

Old  French  war,  otherwise 
called  War  of  Hanover,  or 
Seven  years  war, 432 

Origin  and  progress  of  the 
American  Revolution 434 

War  of  Independence, 437 


PART  VIII. 

FROM  THE  TREATY  OF  VERSAILLES,  OR  PARIS,  IN  WHICH  THE  INDEPEN- 
DENCE OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  WAS  SOLEMNLY  AND  UNIVERSALLY 
ACKNOWLEDGED  (A.  D.  1783),  TO  THE  YEAR  OF  OUR  LORD  1854. 


Page 

Formation  of  the  Federal  Con-     • 
stitution  of  the  United  States.- 
Washington,  first  President,..  444 

French  Revolution, 446. 

Napoleon    Bonaparte,    General 
and  Consul,.    450 


Napoleon  Bonaparte,  Emperor,  455 

Second  American  war, 463 

General  view  of  the   Civilized 
World,  from  the  year  1815,  to 
the  year  1844. — Conclusion,..  465 
Appendix  for  1844—1854, 4C>9 


CONTENTS.  XI 


NOTES. 

Page 

N'OTE  A. — Character  and  Death  of  Seneca,  Lucan,  etc., 469 

B. — The   historian  Josephus, 470 

C. — Number  of  Martyrs,  during  the  general  persecutions  of 

the  Church, 472 

D. — Attempt  of  the  emperor  Julian  to  rebuild  the  temple  of 

Jerusalem, 476 

E. — Mahomet's  pretended   miracles, 479 

F. — Answer  of  Pope  Zachary  to  a  consultation  of  the  French,  480 

G. — Temporal  Dominion  of  the  Pope, 481 

H.— Popes  of  the  Middle  Ages, 483 

I.— Conquest  of  Ireland, 486 

J. — Prosecution  and  abolition  of  the  Knights-Templars, 489 

X. — Inquisition, 492 

L.— Bull  of  Alexander  VI,  called  the  Bull  of  partition, 494 

M. — Influence  of  the  Roman  Church  on  the   improvement  of 

science.— Affair  of  Galileo. — The  Calendar, 496 

N. — Massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew's  day, 497 

O.— Revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes, , , 499 

P. — On  religious  persecution, 502 

Tables  of  contemporary  Sovereigns, 509 

Chronological  table, 521 

Table  of  Authors, 535 


MODERN  HISTORY. 


PART    I. 


FROM  THE  BATTLE  OF   ACTIUM  (B.  C.  31),  TO    THE   ACCESSION  O9  CON- 
STANTINE,  (A.   D.  306). 


ROMAN  EMPIRE. 

AUGUSTUS.— B.  c.  31.  A.  D.  14. 

ON  his  return  to  Rome  after  the  battle  of  Actium,  Octavius,  after- 
wards called  Augustus,  deliberated  whether  he  should  abdicate  or 
retain  the  almost  unlimited  power  which  he  possessed.  He  felt 
more  inclined  to  the  latter  measure ;  but  his  mind  was  a  prey  to  fear 
and  anxiety,  when  he  considered  the  love  of  the  Roman  people  for 
liberty,  and  the  danger  to  which,  by  preserving  the  supreme  authority 
in  his  own  hands,  he  would  be  unavoidably  exposed. 

To  act  the  more  prudently  in  a  matter  of  such  importance,  he 
caused  the  alternative  to  be  discussed  in  his  presence  by  his  two  dear- 
est and  most  trusty  friends,  Agrippa,  a  celebrated  warrior,  and  Mae- 
cenas, a  profound  politician.  Dion  Cassius  the  historian  has  trans- 
mitted to  us  the  contradictory  advice  of  these  two  great  men. 
Agrippa  first  delivered  his  opinion,  and,  though  a  relative  of  Augus- 
tus, and  the  chief  instrument  of  his  victories,  openly  declared  for  a 
generous  abdication  of  the  supreme  power  into  the  hands  of  the  se- 
nate and  people.  He  represented  the  great  danger  of  attempting  to 
govern,"in  the  capacity  of  sovereign,  men  born  and  raised  in  a  re- 
public; nor  did  he  fail  to  insist  on  the  striking  precedent  of  Julius 
Cscsar,  who,  a  few  years  before,  had  been  killed  in  the  senate,  for 
hazarding  a  similar  project. 


14  MODERN   HISTORY.  Part  i. 

Maecenas  was  of  a  different  opinion :  to  him  the  scheme  of  abdi- 
cation appeared  more  brilliant  than  prudent;  and  he  strenuously 
maintained  that  it  would  prove  fatal  to  all  parties.  Were  Augustus 
to  descend  to  the  condition  of  private  life,  his  death  would  be  sought 
and  easily  procured  by  his  enemies;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  con- 
sidering the  violent  storms  which  had  lately  shaken  the  republic,  and 
looking  over  the  broad  extent  of  the  Roman  dominions,  it  was  evi- 
dent that  Rome  could  no  longer  subsist  without  a  monarch. 

Augustus,  having  patiently  heard  his  friends  and  thanked  them  for 
their  advice,  determined  to  follow  the  opinion  of  Mrecenas,  without 
entirely  rejecting  that  of  Agrippa.  He  accordingly  retained  the  sove- 
reign power,  but  would  not  assume  the  title  and  insignia  of  a  king, 
contenting  himself  with  the  name  of  imjierator,  a  title  which  was 
frequently  given  to  commanders  of  armies  after  a  signal  victory.  His 
object  was  to  effect  a  real  change,  and  yet  apparently  to  preserve  the 
ancient  form  of  government.  The  consuls  and  other  public  officers 
were  appointed  as  regularly  as  before,  and  although  subordinate  and 
accountable  to  Augustus,  exercised  the  same  functions  which  they 
had  to  perform  in  the  days  of  the  Commonwealth.  He  also  divided 
the  provinces  between  himself  and  the  Senate,  to  which  body  he  as- 
signed the  nearest,  as  being  the  most  peaceable;  but  reserved  for 
himself  such  as  were  more  exposed  to  the  attacks  of  an  enemy.  He 
thus  concentrated  in  himself  the  whole  military  power,  by  holding 
the  command  of  the  standing  troops,  which  were  stationed  in  those 
provinces  only  that  were  liable  to  invasion. 

Notwithstanding  the  doubtful  character  of  these  measures,  the  use 
which  Augustus  made  of  his  great  authority,  was  truly  beneficial  to 
the  Romans.  te  After  twenty  years  continuance,"  says  Velleius  Pa- 
terculus,  "the  civil  contests  ended,  foreign  wars  ceased,  peace  was 
re-established,  hostilities  were  every  where  quelled ;  vigor  was  re- 
stored to  the  laws,  authority  to  the  tribunals The  fields  were 

again  cultivated;  sacred  things  were  respected,  and  the  lives  and 
property  of  the  citizens  placed  in  a  state  of  security."*  Nor  did 
Rome  and  Italy  alone  reap  the  fruits  of  these  happy  improvements. 
The  several  provinces,  before  distracted  by  civil  wars,  or  plundered 
and  harassed  by  the  avidity  of  their  governors,  now  began  to  re- 
cover from  all  those  evils,  and  to  enjoy  their  former  prosperity. 

No  sooner  did  Augustus  see  his  authority  well  established  in  tho 
Capital,  than  he  set  out  (B.  c.  27),  to  visit  the  various  parts  of  the 
empire,  Gaul,  Spain,  Greece,  Asia  Minor,  Syria,  etc.  Residing  in 

*  Finita  viccsimo  anno  bella  civilia,  sepulta  externa,  revocata  pax,  sopitus 

ubiqu£  armorum  furor;  restituta  vis  legibus,  judiciis  auctoritas .Re- 

diit  cultus  a^ris,  sacris  honos,  securitas  hominibus,  certa  cuique  rerum  sua- 
rum  possessio.—  Veil.  Paterc.  Hist.,  part.  Id. 


!:S;S:  AUGUSTUS.  15 

each  for  some  time,  he  regulated  the  government,  enacted  suitable 
laws,  and  applied  himself  particularly  to  the  repression  of  licentious- 
ness, which  he,  although  his  own  conduct  was  not  blameless,  justly 
considered  as  one  of  the  greatest  evils  of  the  state. 

The  progress  of  science  and  literature  formed  one  of  the  principal 
objects  of  his  attention.  Cicero,  Sallust  and  Cornelius  Nepos  hav- 
ing been,  a  short  time  before,  snatched  away  by  death,  Augustus  en- 
deavored to  repair  this  loss,  by  encouraging  the  genius  of  others  sc 
as  to  make  them  contend  sucessfully  with  the  Greek  writers  in  elo- 
quence and  poetry.  Such  especially  were  Virgil,  Horace,  Ovid  and 
Livy;  all  of  whom  enjoyed  the  uninterrupted  favor  of  Augustus, 
except  however  the  poet  Ovid,  who,  having  witnessed  some  shame- 
ful disorders  in  the  emperor's  family,  was,  on  that  account,  banished 
to  Tomos,  a  town  of  Scythia  near  the  Euxine  Sea,  where  he  ended 
his  life  the  same  day  on  which  Livy  died  at  Padua  (A.  D.  17).  Livy 
left  a  complete  history  of  Rome,  from  its  foundation  to  his  own  time, 
consisting  of  140  books,  most  of  which  are  lost;  yet,  the  few  which 
have  been  preserved,  are  sufficient  to  place  their  author  in  the  first 
rank  of  historians,  particularly  for  his  noble  and  elegant  style.  Ho- 
race died  almost  suddenly,  in  the  56th  year  of  his  age  (B.  c.  8). 
Virgil  having  gone  to  Greece,  where  he  expected  to  procure  the 
proper  information  and  tranquillity  necessary  for  the  completion  of 
his  ^Eneid,  was  prevailed  upon  to  return  with  Augustus  to  Rome. 
Although  laboring  under  indisposition,  he  embarked  on  the  Adriatic; 
the  navigation  augmented  the  violence  of  his  disease,  and  he  expired 
on  his  arrival  at  Brundusium,  at  the  age  of  51  years;  (B.  c.  19).  His 
remains  were  interred  at  Naples,  and  on  his  tomb  was  placed  the 
following  epitaph  composed,  it  is  believed,  by  himself;  it  contains, 
in  two  verses,  the  place  of  his  birth,  that  of  his  death  and  burial,  and 
the  subjects  of  his  various  poems : 

I  sung  flocks,  tillage,  heroes ;  Mantua  gave 
Me  life,  Brundusium  death,  Naples  a  grave.* 

Virgil,  not  having  had  time  to  give  the  last  touch  to  his  principal 
poem,  commanded,  just  before  his  death,  that  it  should  be  cast  into 
the  flames;  but  this  rigorous  order,  happily  for  literature,  was  not 
executed.  Augustus,  besides  preventing  its  destruction,  took  care 
that  nothing  should  be  added  to  the  work,  a  circumstance  which  ac- 
counts for  the  many  unfinished  verses  found  in  the  JEineid.  Its  au- 
thor is  justly  looked  upon  as  the  prince  of  Latin  poets.  He  was 
moreover  skilled  in  mathematics,  geography,  natural  and  moral  phi- 

*  Mantua  me  genuit,  Calabri  rapuere,  tenet  nunc 
Parthenope;  cecini  pascua,  rura,  duces. 


16  MODERN     HISTORY.  Part  I( 

losophy ;  and,  what  is  still  more  admirable,  amidst  the  general  esteem 
in  which  he  was  held  for  his  talents,  he  always  preserved  a  modest 
deportment;  he  was  plain  in  his  manners,  even  at  court,  and  pure 
in  his  morals,  even  in  the  most  corrupt  of  ages. 

The  wisdom  of  Augustus  was  like  an  abundant  spring  whence 
happiness  flowed  without  interruption,,  spreading  itself  over  every 
portion  of  the  world  and  through  every  class  of  society.  Governing 
others,  as  he  himself  would  have  wished  to  be  governed,  he  marked  all 
the  years  of  his  reign  by  numerous  acts  of  a  wise  and  prudent  adminis- 
tration. His  behavior  towards  the  senate  and  the  people  exhibited  a 
happy  mixture  of  condescension  and  firmness:  when  deliberating  on 
public  affairs,  he  was  not  offended  at  seeing  his  opinions  strenuously 
opposed;  when  inclined  to  anger,  his  custom  was,  either  to  leave 
the  company  for  a  moment,  or,  in  compliance  with  an  advice  which 
he  had  received  from  the  philosopher  Athenodorus,  to  repress  the 
feelings  of  nature,  before  saying  or  doing  any  thing.  With  regard 
to  the  people  in  general,  he  was  studious  to  conciliate  their  favor  by 
public  exhibitions  and  largesses;  and  the  Romans  saw,  with  the  ut- 
most pleasure,  not  only  abundance  and  security  completely  restored 
among  them  under  his  government,  but  their  city  also  wonderfully 
embellished  by  his  orders  and  care.  According  to  his  own  expression, 
"he  found  it  of  brick,  and  left  it  of  marble:"  nor  did  he  however, 
trespass  on  the  rights  of  the  inhabitants,  preferring  to  leave  some 
works  unfinished  and  imperfect,  rather  than  encroach  upon  the  pro- 
perty of  others. 

The  conduct  of  Augustus  towards  particular  persons,  was  equally 
admirable.  He  excused  the  senators  from  all  troublesome  ceremonials, 
and  would  not  suffer  them  to  wait  upon  him  at  the  palace,  in  order 
to  condurt  him  to  the  senate-house :  here  he  received  their  compli- 
ments and  returned  their  salutations,  calling  them  by  their  names. 
Nor  did  he  extend  this  mildness  and  affability  to  senators  only,  or  to 
persons  of  distinction ;  he  permitted  all  to  approach  him,  and  was 
accessible  even  to  the  citizens  of  the  lowest  classes,  receiving  their 
petitions  with  kindness,  and  encouraging  those  whom  reverential 
awe  rendered  timid  and  bashful. 

Very  many  instances  are  related  of  his  moderation  and  clemency 
towards  those  who  behaved  disrespectfully  in  his  regard.  The  fol- 
lowing one  will  suffice.  As  he  was  making  preparations  for  a  jour- 
ney, a  senator,  named  Rufus,  said  at  an  entertainment:  "I  wish 
that  Augustus  may  never  come  back  again ;"  and  jesting  about  the 
number  of  victims  which  were  usually  sacrificed  in  thanksgiving  for 
the  emperor's  return,  he  added  that  all  the  oxen  and  calves  entertained 
the  same  wish.  These  words  were  carefully  treasured  up  by  some 
of  the  guests.  The  next  day  a  slave  of  Rufus  reminded  his  master 


;;S:?i:  AUGUSTUS.  17 

of  what  he  had  said  when  heated  with  wine,  and  advised  him  to  go 
and  be  the  first  to  declare  his  fault  to  the  emperor.  Rufus  followed 
the  advice  ;  he  hastened  to  the  palace,  presented  himself  hefore  Au- 
gustus, and  attributing  his  conduct  of<  the  previous  day  to  a  fit  of 
madness,  begged  him  to  forgive  his  foolish  temerity.  Augustus 
granted  his  request.  "Caesar,"  said  Rufus,  "no  one  will  believe 
that  you  have  restored  me  to  your  friendship,  unless  you  make  me  a 
handsome  present."  The  prince  granted  this  also,  adding  with  a 
smile:  "  for  my  own  sake,  I  will  take  care  not  to  be  angry  with  you 
in  future." 

However,  Augustus  did  not' always  suffer  the  odious  imputations 
cast  upon  his  character  to  pass  unnoticed :  a  proper  care  of  his 
reputation  often  induced  him  to  repel  them,  either  by  discourses  de- 
livered in  the  senate,  or  by  declarations  publicly  made  in  his  name. 
But  he  was  a  stranger  to  revenge.  Tiberius,  who  afterwards  suc- 
ceeded him,  and  who  was  of  a  very  different  character,  having  once 
exhorted  him  to  punish  an  insult,  Augustus  replied :  "  My  dear  Ti- 
berius, do  not  abandon  yourself  too  much  to  the  vivacity  of  your 
age,  and  be  not  so  indignant  at  those  who  speak  ill  of  me;  it  is 
enough  to  prevent  them  from  doing  us  any  harm." 

Who  would  imagine  that  a  man  of  such  mildness  and  moderation 
had,  in  his  youth,  shed  so  much  blood,  and  committed  so  many  cru- 
elties? This  change  in  Augustus,  though  springing  perhaps  from 
interested  views,  cannot  but  appear  truly  astonishing.  Examples 
may  be  found  of  a  good  natural  disposition  corrupted  by  constant 
prosperity,  and  especially  by  unlimited  power;  but  to  find,  in  such 
circumstances,  bad  qualities  removed,  and  succeeded  by  noble  and 
generous  feelings,  is  extremely  rare. 

A  government  so  mild,  and  possessing  so  many  advantages  both 
for  the  state  and  private  citizens,  excited  a  genera),  esteem  and  love 
for  its  wise  regulator.  Even  when  he  proposed  to  the  senate,  with 
more  policy  than  sincerity,  the  resignation  of  his  power,  the  senators, 
either  through  a  dread  of  new  evils,  or  through  attachment  to  his  per- 
son, entreated  him  to  continue  in  the  possession  of  the  supreme 
authority.  He  had,  or  pretended  to  have  the  modesty  to  accept  it 
only  for  ten  years;  but  it  was  successively  bestowed  upon  him  for  ten 
more,  when  that  term  had  elapsed. 

Still  more  honorable  for  Augustus  was  the  manner  in  which  he 
received,  in  compliance  with  the  desire  of  the  whole  nation,  the  tide 
of  Father  of  his  Country,  a  title  so  eminently  glorious  when  truly  me- 
ritod.  At  first,  the  people  offered  it  to  the  emperor  by  a  solemn  em- 
bassy; Augustus  having  refused,  all  the  inhabitants  of  Rome  insisted, 
and  with  unanimous  acclamations  earnestly  begged  that  it  should  be 
accepted.  In  fine,  the  senators  agreed  among  themselves  to  maKe  a 


18  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Parl 


last  effort  ;  and  one  of  their  number,  Messala,  in  the  name  of  all, 
addressed  Augustus  in  these  terms:  "Caesar,  the  senate  together  with 
the  Roman  people  proclaim  you  the  Father  of  the  country."  The 
emperor,  moved  even  to  tears,  answered:  "Senators,  having  reached 
the  summit  of  my  wishes,  what  else  can  I  ask  of  the  immortal  gods, 
than  that  I  should  always  deserve  and  obtain  from  you  the  affectionate 
sentiments  which  you  have  just  expressed'?"*  This  was  truly  the 
happiest  day  of  his  life. 

Still,  as  there  are  always  some  discontented  persons  even  under  the 
most  moderate  governments,  Augustus  was  not  secure  from  secret 
conspiracies.  He  showed  himself  inexorable  in  the  punishment  of  the 
first  offenders,  Ignatius  Rufus,  Murena  and  Cepion  ;  but  he  pursued 
a  different  course  in  the  case  of  Cinna,  a  grand-son  of  Pompey,  whose 
party  many  persons  of  high  standing  had  joined.  The  emperor  was 
informed  of  the  bold  design  by  one  of  the  accomplices,  and  this  infor- 
mation threw  him  into  the  greatest  perplexity.  '  Must  he  again  shed 
torrents  of  blood,  or  would  it  be  more  expedient  to  forgive  ?  This 
alternative  was  the  subject  of  a  conversation  between  him  and  his 
wife  Livia,  and  to  the  empress  is  attributed  the  honor  of  having  in- 
duced her  husband  to  lean  on  the  side  of  clemency.  His  resolution 
being  formed,  he  sent  for  Cinna,  named  in  his  presence  all  the  con- 
spirators, whose  leader  he  was,  and  showed  himself  perfectly 
acquainted  with  the  manner,  time  and  place  which  they  had  ap- 
pointed. Cinna  was  thunderstruck  at  this  unexpected  disclosure;  but 
his  surprise  was  still  greater  when  Augustus,  after  enumerating  the 
benefits  he  had  conferred  on  him,  added:  "Cinna,  I  forgave  you 
once,  when  you  were  found  in  the  camp  of  my  enemies;  I  now  par- 
don you  a  second  time,  after  you  have  attempted  to  be  my  murderer. 
Let  us  become  sincere  friends,  and  by  our  future  conduct  towards 
each  other,  make  it  doubtful  which  is  greater,  my  generosity  or  your 
gratitude." 

To  this  noble  language,  Augustus  joined  equally  generous  pro- 
ceedings; he  nominated  Cinna  consul  for  the  ensuing  year,  and 
gave  him  many  other  marks  of  particular  affection.  In  return,  Cinna 
became  the  faithful  friend  of  his  sovereign,  and  was  ever  afterwards 
inviolably  attached  to  his  interests.  The  emperor  derived  a  still  more 
valuable  advantage  from  his  clemency  on  this  occasion  ;  it  completed 
his  popularity  in  Rome,  and  from  that  time.,  effectually  prevented  con- 
spiracies against  his  person  and  authority. 

*  Csesar  Auguste,  senalus  consentiens  cum  populo  Romano,  te  consalutat 
patrise  patrem.  Cui  lacrymans  respondit  Augustus  his  verbis  :  Compos  fac- 
tus  votorum  meorum,  P.  C.,  quid  habeo  aliud  Deos  itnmortales  precari, 
quain  ut  hunc  consensum  vestrum  ad  ultimum  vitrc  finem  m.hi  pr  rferre 
hceat?  Sueton.  in  August. 


I;?.  Si  AUGUSTUS.  19 

The  most  memorable  event  during  the  reign  of  this  prince,  was  the 
birth  of  our  Saviour.  Augustus  unintentionally  contributed  to  the 
accomplishment  of  the  designs  of  Heaven  on  this  point :  as  he  had 
issued  a  decree  that  the  whole  world  should  be  enrolled,  every  one  in 
his  own  city,  the  B.  Virgin  was  obliged  to  go  with  St.  Joseph  from  Na- 
zareth to  Bethlehem,  a  little  town  of  the  tribe  of  Juda.*  There,  as  the 
Prophet  Micheas  had  foretoldf,  the  Incarnate  Son  of  God  was  born 
and  commenced  the  work  of  our  redemption,  about  four  thousand 
years  after  the  creation  of  the  world,  seven  hundred  and  fifty-three 
after  the  building  of  Rome,  and  thirty-one  after  the  foundation  of  the 
empire. 

The  birth  of  Christ  coincided  with  the  very  uncommon  circumstance 
that  the  temple  of  Janus  was  shut;  this  was  the  case  only  during  a 
universal  peace.  From  Romulus  to  Augustus,  an  interval  of  seven 
hundred  years,  it  had  been  shut  only  twice :  first,  under  the  reign  of 
IVuma,  and  a  second  time,  between  the  first  and  second  Punic  wars. 
The  tranquillity  which  the  world  now  enjoyed,  was  a  figure  of  that 
spiritual  peace  which  the  Eternal  Son  of  God  came  to  impart  to 
mankind. 

This  tranquillity  originated  chiefly  in  the  moderation  of  Augustus; 
no  sooner  did  he  find  himself  without  a  competitor  in  Rome,  than 
his  views  became  wholly  pacific.  He  never  undertook  a  war,  except 
through  necessity »and  when  the  advantages  expected  from  it  far  ex- 
ceeded the  loss  that  might  be  feared.  His  usual  saying  was,  that  they 
who,  without  hesitation,  purchase  small  advantages  by  running  great 
risks,  resemble  a  man  fishing  with  a  golden  hook,  the  value  of  which 
far  exceeds  that  of  all  the  fish  he  may  hope  to  catch.  On  the 
same  principle,  he  frequently  blamed  Alexander  for  having  continu- 
ally sought  to  extend  his  empire  by  warfare,  rather  than  govern  it  in 
peace  and  watch  over  its  internal  prosperity. 

Still,  Augustus  was  compelled  to  engage  in  several  wars,  most  of 
which  became  successful  through  the  ability  of  his  generals.  The 
Cantabrians  in  Spain  were  defeated  by  Agrippa.  Tiberius  repressed 
the  rebels  of  Dalmatia  and  Pannonia,  subdued  the  Rhetians  in  despite 
of  their  mountains,  and  humbled  the  pride  of  Maroboduus,  a  powerful 
king  of  the  Marcomans;  whilst  his  brother  Drusus,  a  young  hero, 
made  four  glorious  campaigns  in  the  heart  of  Germany,  and  extended 
his  conquests  as  far  as  the  river  Elbe.  The  Roman  arms  were  every 
where  respected :  the  Parthians  returned  the  prisoners  and  colors  that 
had  been  in  their  possession  since  the  defeat  of  Crassus  (B.  c.  53) ; 
and  the  nations  of  India  sought,  through  embassies,  the  alliance  and 
Criendship  of  Augustus. 

These  brilliant  successes  wers  followed  by  a  disaster,  the  more 
*  Luke,  ii.  1,  3.  etc.  \  Micheas,  v.  2. 


20  MODERN  HISTORY. 


Part  [. 


grievous  to  the  prince  and  to  the  people,  as  it  was  quite  unexpected 
Q,uintilius  Varus,  who  commanded  in  Germany  five  Roman  legions 
(about  25,000  men),  and  some  auxiliary  troops,  gradually  rendered 
himself  odious  to  the  inhabitants  by  his  love  of  money  and  his  great 
extortions.  His  imprudence  soon  caused  his  complete  overthrow.  He 
obstinately  refused  to  give  ear  to  the  warnings  which  he  received  of  a 
threatened  insurrection,  and  was  even  prevailed  upon  by  Arminius,  a 
young  German  prince  whose  fidelity  he  did  not  suspect,  to  divide  his 
army  into  several  separate  bodies,  and  to  station  them'  in  different 
quarters.  These  scattered  troops  were  easily  destroyed  by  the  natives, 
and  the  revolt  became  general.  At  length,  the  Roman  general, 
aware  of  his  danger,  hastened  with  three  legions  to  subdue  the  rebels; 
but  he  imprudently  suffered  himself  to  be  blocked  up  between  woods 
and  marshes,  and  Arminius,  with  all  the  forces  he  could  collect,  attacked 
him  during  the  night  and  amidst  the  horrors  of  a  violent  storm. 
The  Romans  fought  bravely,  but  in  vain;  they  were  cut  to  pieces 
together  with  their  commander  and  officers,  and  but  very  few 
escaped  to  carry  back  the  tidings  of  the  defeat  (A.  D.  9). 

Never  was  Augustus  so  much  afflicted  at  the  news  of  any  misfor- 
tune. When  he  was  apprised  of  the  event,  he  rent  his  garments 
through  excess  of  grief,  and  was  often  heard  to  cry  out :  "  Varus,  re- 
store me  my  legions:"  He  feared  moreover  that  the  Germans  would 
pursue  their  victory,  invade  Italy  and  attack  Rome  itself:  but  the 
danger  was  not  so  great  as  had  been  imagined,  and  the  following 
year,  Tiberius  easily  checked  the  progress  of  the  enemy. 

Another  source  of  grief  for  Augustus  m  his  advanced  age,  was 
the  misconduct  of  some  of  his  children  and  grand-children,  whom  he 
was  obliged  to  send  into  exile.  The  death  of  those  around  him  in 
whom  he  had  placed  all  his  confidence,  such  as  Agrippa  and  Maece- 
nas, or  whom  he  expected  to  be  the  future  support  of  his  throne  and 
family,  likewise  pressed  heavily  upon  him.  Drusus,  his  step-son, 
was  taken  off  in  the  midst  of  his  victorious  career :  Marcellus,  his 
nephew  and  son-in-law,  died  at  a  premature  age;  as  did  also  Caius 
and  Lucius  Caesar,  the  emperor's  grand-sons,  children  of  Agrippa. 

Next  to  Augustus,  Agrippa  was  beyond  dispute  the  first  man  of 
his  age,  great  in  peace  and  in  war,  illustrious  in  the  field  and  in  the 
cabinet.  Sicily,  Greece,  Germany,  Gaul  and  Spain,  were  succes- 
sively the  theatres  of  his  military  achievements.  In  time  of  peace,  his 
mind  was  ever  occupied  with  grand  and  noble  designs  all  tending  to 
th«  public  good ;  and  he  has  rendered  his  name  immortal  by  works  far 
surpassing  in  splendor  and  magnificence  those  of  any  other  private 
individual.  Qualified  to  hold  the  first  rank  in  a  republic,  he  contented 
himself  with  the  second  under  Augustus,  who  made  him  his  son-in- 
law,  colleague,  and  intended  successor. 


!;£?a:  AUGUSTUS.  21 

The  intimacy  of  their  friendship  reflects  equal  honor  on  both. 
Agrippa  obtained  the  favor  of  Augustus  without  mean  condescension 
and  flattery  ;  and  Augustus,  without  either  distrust  or  jealousy  of 
Agrippa's  conspicuous  merit,  raised  him  almost  to  an  equality  with 
himself.  After  the  death  of  so  faithful  a  friend,  he  honored  his  re- 
mains by  magnificent  obsequies,  at  which  he  himself  pronounced  the 
funeral  oration,  and  would  not  suffer  him  to  be  laid  in  any  other  tomb 
than  that  destined  for  himself. 

Maecenas  loo,  although  indolent  with  regard  to  his  own  affairs  and 
person,  was  an  able  minister,  who  joined  a  superior  mind  to  bene- 
ficence and  modesty.  He  always  endeavored  to  procure  the  advan- 
tage of  others,  and  on  the  contrary  never  availed  himself  of  the  em- 
peror's friendship  to  promote  his  own  interest.  To  him  and  to  his 
constant  protection  were  science  and  literature  principally  indebted  for 
the  high  degree  of  perfection,  which  they  attained  under  the  reign  of 
Augustus. 

Drusus,  as  we  have  already  said,  conquered  a  great  part  of  Ger- 
many. As  a  Roman,  no  one  surpassed  him  in  noble  and  gene- 
rous feelings;  as  a  general,  lie  was  equalled,  in  that  ago,  only  by 
Agrippa  and  by  his  own  son  Germanicus. 

In  fine,  Marcellus,  a  young  prince  possessed  of  uncommon  talents, 
and  still  more  admirable  for  his  moral  virtues,  was,  in  every  respect, 
deserving  of  his  high  rank  and  fortune.  He  had  already  acquired  gen- 
eral esteem;  he  was  the  hope  of  the  Romans  and  the  pride  of  his  uncle 
Augustus,  when  death  exhibited  in  his  person  a  new  instance  of  the 
frailty  of  human  grandeur.  This  made  Virgil  say  in  the  6th  book  of 
his 


"  This  youth,  the  blissful  vision  of  a  day, 

Shall  be  just  shown  on  earth,  and  snatched  away."  —  Dryden* 

And  again,  after  alluding  to  the  great  hero  of  the  same  name,  con- 
spicuous in  the  second  Punic  war  : 

"  Ah  !  couldst  thou  break  through  fate's  severe  decree, 
A  new  Marcellus  would  arise  in  thee."f 

These  beautiful  verses,  when  first  publicly  recited,  drew  tears  from  all 
who  heard  them,  and  particularly  touched  Augustus  and  his  sister 
Octavia,  the  young  prince's  mother,  who  remained  inconsolable  till 
death. 

'Thus  the  emperor  was  compelled  to  centre,  if  not  all  his  affection, 
at  least  all  his  expectation  in  Tiberius.     He  now  chose  him  for  his 

*  Ostendent  terris  hunc  tantum  fata,  neque  ultra 

Esse  sinent. 
f  Heu,  miserande  puer  !  si  qua  fata  aspera  rumpas, 

Tu  Marcellus  eris. 


MODERN    HISTORY. 


Parti. 


colleague  and  successor,  as  the  only  one  whom  he  knew  truly  capa- 
ble of  upholding  the  empire.  He  himself,  however,  did  not  entirely 
withdraw  from  the  cares  of  the  government,  a  burden  always  agreeable 
to  his  ambition.  Even,  when  his  health  was  declining,  his  mind 
continued  ever  busy  and  active.  At  length,  whilst  travelling  through 
the  south  of  Italy,  on  his  way  from  Beneventum  to  Rome,  he  fell 
dangerously  ill,  and  could  not  proceed  beyond  Nola  in  Campania. 
When  he  saw  that  the  end  of  his  life  was  near,  he  ordered  a  looking- 
glass  to  be  brought  to  him,  and  his  hair  to  be  dressed ;  then  called  in 
his  friends,  and  asked  them  if  they  thought  he  had  well  played  his 
part  in  the  drama  of  life.  Being  answered  in  the  affirmative,  he  cried 
out  in  a  Greek  verse  with  which  the  ancient  plays  generally  termi- 
nated :  "  Give  me  then  your  applause."  Thus,  at  the  age  of  seventy- 
six,  after  reigning  forty-five  years,  he  expired  on  the  19th  of  August, 
a  month  formerly  called  Sextilis,  but  to  which  he  had  given  his  name. 
He  was  buried  at  Rome  with  great  pomp,  and  even  divine  honors 
were  impiously  paid  to  his  memory. 

Augustus  possessed,  in  an  eminent  degree,  all  the  qualifications 
necessary  to  become  the  founder  of  the  Roman  empire  under  its 
present  form ;  viz.  penetrating  genius,  energy  of  soul,  activity,  and 
above  all,  a  consummate  prudence  under  all  possible  circumstances. 
His  long  administration  may  be  proposed,  in  most  points,  as  a  model 
of  excellent  government ;  and  he  himself  might  be  looked  upon  as 
one  of  the  best  of  princes,  could  we  forget  that  the  mild  and  beneficent 
Augustus  had  once  been  the  fierce  and  cruel  Octavius.  Hence,  the 
common  opinion  entertained  respecting  his  public  character  is,  that  it 
would  have  conduced  greatly  to  the  happiness  of  mankind,  if  Octavius 
had  never  been  born,  or  if  Augustus  had  never  died. 

The  census  of  the  Roman  citizens  was  taken  several  times  under 
his  reign.  In  the  beginning,  they  amounted  to  four  millions  and  sixty- 
tkree  thousand;  towards  the  end,  to  four  millions  one  hundred  and 
thirtv-seven  thousand,  and  shortly  after,  under  the  emperor  Claudius 
they  were  found  to  be  nearly  seven  millions.  These  numbers  com- 
prised, very  probably,  not  only  the  inhabitants  of  Rome,  but  all  per- 
sons in  every  part  of  the  empire  who  had  obtained  by  birth  or  by 
special  privilege,  the  right  of  Roman  citizenship,*  such  as  was  pos- 
sessed by  St.  Paul,  a  Jew  and  a  native  of  Tarsus  in  Cilicia.f  To 
ascertain  precisely  the  population  of  the  city  of  Rome  at  that  epoch, 
seems  quite  impossible ;  but  from  a  variety  of  circumstances,  it  may 
be  reasonably  supposed  to  have  amounted  to  about  two  millions. 

*  See  Tillemont,  Histoire  dcs  Emperenrs,  vol.  1,  p.  4,  48,  244. 
f  del.  Jpp.  xxr  39;  and  xxn.  25,  26,  27,  28. 


A.  D,  14-57.  TIBERIUS.  23 

TIBERIUS.  A.  D.  14—37. 

IMMEDIATELY  after  the  death  of  Augustus,  Tiberius,  who  had  now 
completed  his  fifty-fifth  year,  assumed  all  the  marks  of  the  imperial 
dignity.  He  was  the  son  of  the  empress  Li  via,  by  a  former  mar- 
riage with  Tiberius  Nero.  His  mother,  indeed,  by  her  credit  and  in- 
fluence, greatly  contributed  to  his  elevation,  but  it  was  perhaps  owing 
chiefly  to  his  own  military  and  political  talents;  and  these  would 
certainly  have  fitted  him  for  his  high  station,  had  he  not  chosen  to 
act  the  part  of  a  vicious  and  tyrannical  prince. 

Shortly  after  his  accession  to  the  throne,  Tiberius  began  to  manifest 
the  perverse  inclinations  of  his  heart.  Naturally  morose  and  cruel, 
jealous  of  any  glory  acquired  by  others,  he  was  full  of  dissimulation, 
and  the  more  to  be  dreaded,  as  he  knew  how  to  conceal  his  anger. 
It  sometimes  happened  that,  whilst  he  was  politely  entertaining  indivi- 
duals in  his  palace,  sentence  of  death  was  pronounced  against  them, 
by  his  orders,  in  the  public  tribunals  of  Rome.  The  most  trifling 
faults  in  matters  regarding  his  government,  were  visited  with  the 
penalties  of  high-treason. 

With  such  a  prince  it  was  dangerous  to  jest.  As  he  had  postponed 
the  payment  of  some  legacies  bequeathed  by  Augustus  to  the  Roman 
people,  a  wag,  who  wished  to  remind  him  of  his  obligation,  took  ad- 
vantage of  a  funeral  that  was  passing  along  the  street,  approached 
the  bier,  and  feigning  to  whisper  something  in  the  ear  of  the  dead  man, 
said,  in  a  tone  loud  enough  to  be  heard  by  the  by-standers :  "Pray, 
remember  to  tell  Augustus  that  his  legacies  are  not  yet  paid."  The 
emperor,  being  informed  of  this  piece  of  wit,  sent  for  the  unfortunate 
jester,  paid  him  his  portion  of  the  legacy,  and  ordered  him  to  be  put 
to  death  immediately,  saying:  "Let  him  go  himself  to  Augustus,  and 
he  will  be  able  to  bring  him  later  and  better  news  than  that  carried  by 
the  dead  man."  The  jest  however  had  its  desired  effect,  and  the 
legacies  were  shortly  after  paid  to  the  people. 

Notwithstanding  the  vices  and  tyranny  of  Tiberius,  his  reign  was 
not  altogether  inglorious.  At  home,  it  exhibited  many  acts  of  justice, 
firmness  and  munificence;  and  it  was  marked  abroad  by  many  suc- 
cessful events,  the  honor  of  which  belongs  partly  to  Drusus,  his  son, 
but  chiefly  to  Germanicus,  his  nephew,  son  of  the  former  Drusuijfc 

On  the  reception  of  the  first  news  of  the  late  emperor's  death,  the 
legions  stationed  both  in  Pannonia  and  Germany  for  the  defen 
these  countries,  openly  revolted,  demanding  from  their  leaders,  with 
alarming  threats,  an  increase  of  their  pay  and  an  earlier  ilischnr 
from  military  service.     Drusus  and  other  persons  of  high  rank,  with 
a  few  cohorts,  were  dispatched  to  quell  the  insurrection  in  Pannonia. 


24  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Part  I 


On  their  arrival,  they  found  every  thing  in  dreadful  confusion,  which 
neither  the  presence  of  Drusus,  nor  the  reading  of  his  father's  letters, 
was  able  to  remove.  He,  on  the  contrary,  had  the  mortification  to  see 
his  guards  and  counsellors  exposed  to  the  violence  of  the  soldiery,  and 
himself  to  insulting  cries  and  clamors.  The  following  night  seemed 
to  threaten  the  perpetration  of  still  greater  crimes,  when,  in  a  clear 
and  serene  sky,  the  moon  was  beheld  suddenly,  though  gradually, 
losing  its  brightness.  The  overawed  soldiers,  unacquainted  with  the 
cause  of  the  eclipse,  considered  it  as  a  token  of  the  wrath  of  Heaven, 
and  of  the  frightful  punishment  which  awaited  their  disobedience.* 
Drusus  and  his  council  skilfully  availed  themselves  of  this  favorable 
circumstance,  and,  ordering  the  leaders  of  the  rebels  to  be  arrested,  had 
them  executed  on  the  spot.  After  this,  most  of  the  soldiers  speedily 
returned  to  the  strict  rule  of  military  discipline ;  the  three  legions  were 
then  separated  without  much  trouble,  and  sent  to  distant  quarters ;  by 
which  measure,  the  few  remaining  sparks  of  rebellion  were  easily  ex- 
tinguished. Drusus,  having  thus  re-established  good  order,  and 
deeming  his  presence  no  longer  necessary,  set  out  for  Rome. 

Germanicus,  who  held  the  command  in  Germany,  had  many  more 
difficulties  to  encounter  in  staying  the  revolt  of  his  numerous  troops. 
It  was  only  by  extraordinary  exertions,  by  subjecting  himself  to  every 
hardship  and  even  endangering  his  life,  by  opportunely  exercising 
severity  and  lenity,  that  he  was  enabled  to  revive  discipline  and  re- 
gularity among  the  legions  both  of  the  Upper  and  Lower  Rhine. 

Passing  then  from  one  extreme  to  the  other,  the  soldiers  despatched 
with  their  swords  all  who  had  been  foremost  in  the  rebellion;  and 
afterwards,  in  order  to  exercise  their  valor  more  properly,  they  asked 
to  be  led  against  the  barbarians.  Germanicus  readily  complied  with 
their  desire.  He  threw  a  bridge  over  the  Rhine,  advanced  into  the 
hostile  country  with  a  numerous  troop  of  chosen  men  taken  from  the 
legions  and  the  allies,  and  suddenly  attacking  the  Germans,  made  a 
great  slaughter  of  them,  whereas,  among  the  Romans,  not  one  sol 
dier  was  wounded. 

An  account  of  this  disaster  soon  reached  several  of  the  neighbor- 
ing tribes.  Inflamed  with  resentment,  they  took  up  arms,  and  post- 
ing themselves  to  advantage,  surrounded  the  woods  through  which 
the  victors  were  to  pass  in  returning  to  their  camp.  After  skirmish- 
ing with  the  front  and  the  flanks  of  the  army,  they  fell  with  their 
whole  strength  upon  the  rear.  The  light  cohorts  of  the  auxiliary 
troops  found  themselves  unable  to  sustain  the  shock,  and  began  to 

*  Noctrm  minacem,  ct  in  scelus  erupturam  fors  lenivit:  nam  luna  claro 
ropentfc  crelo  visa  languescere.  Id  miles  rationis  ignarus  omen  prs?scntium 

accepit sibi   laborem   aeternum   portendi,  etc. —  Tacitus,  jlnnal.  lib 

I,  n,  XXVITI. 


D.  14—37. 


TIBERIUS  25 


be  thrown  into  confusion;  when  Germanicus,  riding  at  full  speed  to 
one  of  the  legions,  cried  aloud  that  the  time  was  now  come  for  them 
to  efface,  by  a  noble  exploit,  the  guilt  of  the  late  revolt;  "Let  them 
charge  with  courage,  and  gain  immortal  honor."  Animated  by  these 
words,  the  legion  rushed  to  the  attack,  and  at  the  first  onset,  broke 
the  ranks  of  the  enemy.  The  barbarians  fled  to  the  open  plain,  where 
the  Romans  pursued  them  with  dreadful  carnage;  from  that  time, 
the  march  was  unmolested,  and  the  soldiers  went  into  winter 
quarters. 

Tiberius  received  the  intelligence  of  these  events  with  mingled 
pleasure  and  anxiety.  That  the  sedition  was  at  an  end,  v\  as  to  him 
a  source  of  satisfaction;  but  he  feared  that  the  success  of  Germani- 
cus  would  inspire  him  with  the  idea  of  claiming  the  throne  for  him- 
self. This  was  a  groundless  suspicion;  the  young  prince,  by  refusing 
at  the  time  of  the  revolt,  the  empire  proffered  to  him  by  the  muti- 
nied legions,  had  just  given  an  incontrovertible  proof  of  his  constant 
fidelity.  Still  nothing  could  diminish  the  secret  envy  of  Tiberius, 
and  he  only  waited  for  some  opportunity,  or  rather  sought  some  pre- 
tence, to  recall  his  nephew  to  Rome. 

In  the  mean  time,  Germanicus  had  matured  his  plan  of  opera- 
tions for  the  ensuing  summer.  He  opened  the  campaign  by  a  sud- 
den and  successful  irruption  into  the  territories  near  the  Rhine. 
After  this,  he  prepared  to  march  against  the  main  forces  of  the  enemy, 
then  assembled  under  the  command  of  the  same  Arminius  who  had, 
six  years  before,  obtained  a  memorable  victory  over  the  Romans. 
Four  legions  and  the  cavalry  proceeded  by  land;  Germanicus  with 
four  other  legions  embarked  on  the  German  Sea,  the  more  easily  to 
reach  the  mouth  of  the  river  Amisia  (the  Ems).  All  arrived  in  duo 
time  at  the  place  of  destination,  and  the  whole  army  marched  to- 
wards the  forest  where  the  bones  of  Varus  and  his  legions  were  said 
to  lie  unhuried. 

As  the  Romans  were  advancing,  an  awful  spectacle  met  their 
view  and  excited  in  every  breast  feelings  of  horror.  They  saw  the 
ground  white  with  bones,  in  some  places  thinly  scattered,  in  others 
lying  in  heaps,  as  the  unfortunate  soldiers  of  Varus  happened  to  fall 
in  flight,  or  in  a  body  resisted  to  the  last.  Fragments  of  javelins  and 
the  limbs  of  horses  lay  scattered  about  the  fields;  human  skulls  wer«s 
seen  upon  the  trunks  of  trees;  in  the  adjacent  woods  stood  the  blood- 
stained altars  on  which  the  tribunes  and  principal  centurions  had 
be«n  offered  up  in  sacrifice :  and  near  the  decaying  intrenchments 
of  the  Roman  camp,  was  the  spot  where  some,  who  at  first  escaped 
the  general  massacre,  were  supposed  to  have  made  their  last  effort, 
arid  perished  in  the  attempt. 

All  were  affected  at  this  mournful  sight,  and  with  hearts  oppressed 
3 


26  MODERN   HISTORY.  Part  L 

with  grief,  buried  the  remains  of  their  slaughtered  countrymen.  This 
duty  performed,  they  pressed  forward  in  pursuit  of  an  enemy  whom 
it  was  not  less  difficult  to  overtake  than  to  conquer;  at  length,  Ger- 
manicus  deeming  the  opportunity  favorable,  ordered  his  cavalry  to 
begin  the  attack.  But  Arminius,  taking  advantage  of  the  defiles  and 
other  difficult  parts  of  the  country,  feigned  a  retreat  to  the  forest; 
then  suddenly  wheeling  about,  he  gave  the  signal  to  the  troops  that 
lay  in  ambush  in  the  woods,  to  rush  out  against  the  Romans.  The 
cavalry  which  had  been  advancing,  and  the  auxiliary  cohorts  destined 
to  support  it,  struck  with  surprise,  were  put  to  flight,  and  might  have 
•been  entirely  defeated,  had  not  Germanicus  come  up  with  the  legions 
in  order  of  battle,  and  checked  the  career  of  the  enemy.  The  armies 
parted  upon  equal  terms,  and  retired  to  winter  quarters,  not  however 
without  the  loss  of  many  brave  men  on  the  side  of  the  Romans; 
whilst  the  survivors  were  exposed  to  innumerable  hardships,  which 
they  overcame  only  by  their  fortitude  and  patience. 

In  all  this  variety  of  events,  Germanicus  invariably  displayed  the 
greatest  personal  courage,  extraordinary  prudence,  and  a  constant 
solicitude  for  the  welfare  of  his  troops.  His  ability  in  improving 
every  advantage  and  every  occasion  of  success,  was  particularly  re- 
markable. When  the  Germans  were  to  be  attacked  and  driven  from 
same  post,  he  took  upon  himself  the  most  arduous  part  of  the  at- 
tempt, leaving  the  easiest  duties  to  his  lieutenants,  and  yet  attributing 
afterwards  to  their  conduct  so  much  of  the  success,  that  three  of  them. 
Silius,  Apronius  and  Cecina,  obtained  triumphal  honors. 

He  looked  upon  the  soldiers  as  his  children,  and  treated  them  with 
truly  paternal  kindness.  He  never  uselessly  exposed  them  to  dan- 
gers, nor  fought  any  battle,  except  when  almost  certain  that  he  would 
obtain  a  considerable  advantage.  After  an  engagement,  he  visited  the 
wounded,  consoled  them  by  placing  before  them  the  glory  of  the  past 
and  the  hope  of  the  future,  supplied  their  wants,  and  with  his  own 
money  indemnified  those  who  had  suffered  any  loss  in  the  campaign. 
So  many  virtues  and  amiable  qualities  greatly  endeared  Germanicus  to 
his  troops,  whilst  his  valor  and  skill  made  him  formidable  to  the  enemy. 
The  only  fault  perhaps  in  his  conduct,  was  the  unrelenting  and  inhu- 
man rigor  with  which  he  carried  on  the  war  against  the  Germans, 
spreading  slaughter  far  and  wide,  and  laying  the  whole  country  waste 
with  fire  and  sword,  without  regard  to  age  or  sex.* 

What  has  already  been  said  of  the  Germanic  war,  belongs  to  the 
years  14  and  15  of  our  Lord.  To  ensure  the  success  of  the  next 
campaign,  Germanicus  determined  to  have  all  his  troops  conveyed 
by  water  into  the  heart  of  the  enemy's  country ;  by  his  orders,  a 

*  Tacit.  Jlnnal,  lib.  I,  n.  LI,  LVI  ;  and  lib.  II,  n.  xxv. 


A.  D.  14-57.  TIBERIUS.  27 

fleet  consisting  of  a  thousand  vessels  was  fitted  out  for  the  intended 
expedition.  They  sailed  from  the  eastern  channel  of  the  Rhine,  pro- 
ceeded over  the  lakes,  and  entering  the  German  Ocean,  navigated 
as  far  as  the  river  Amisia.  There  the  men  disembarked,  and  the 
ships  were  left  safe  at  their  moorings.  The  Romans  advanced  through 
the  plain,  crossed  the  Visurgis  (Weser),  and  attacked  the  Germans, 
who  were  encamped  on  the  right  bank  of  that  river. 

At  the  signal  given  by  Germanicus,  the  infantry  began  the  assault 
in  front;  the  cavalry,  at  the  same  time,  charged  the  flank  and  rear; 
both  attacks  were  made  with  so  much  vigor,  that  the  barbarians,  not- 
withstanding their  natural  bravery,  were  thrown  into  confusion  and 
driven  from  all  their  posts.  Yet  Arminius  performed  wonders ;  by 
his  voice,  by  signs,  by  every  means  in  his  power,  still  endeavoring 
to  sustain  the  combat.  Wounded  as  he  was,  and  nearly  surrounded, 
he  braved  every  danjfcr,  and  at  length  by  vigorous  exertions,  escaped 
from  the  field,  having  previously  besmeared  his  face  with  his  own 
blood,  in  order  to  disguise  his  person. 

The  enemies  were  now  completely  routed.  The  victory  cost  the 
Romans  little  or  no  effusion  of  blood ;  but  the  country,  ten  miles 
round,  was  covered  with  mangled  bodies  and  the  arms  of  the  van- 
quished. Among  the  spoils  was  found  a  large  quantity  of  fetters, 
which  the  Germans,  in  the  anticipation  of  victory,  had  destined  for 
the  Roman  prisoners.  The  legions,  on  the  field  of  battle,  again  pro- 
claimed Tiberius  emperor,  and  having  raised  a  mound,  placed  on  the 
top  of  it  a  pile  of  German  arms,  trophies  of  their  victory,  with  an 
an  inscription  at  the  base  setting  forth  the  names  of  the  conquered 
nations. 

To  the  Germans  nothing  could  be  so  exasperating  as  this  monu- 
ment of  Roman  glory.  Inflamed  anew  with  the  desire  of  revenge,  they 
raised  fresh  troops,  and  once  more  resolved  to  try  the  hazard  of  a  bat- 
tle. Their  martial  spirit  was  not  less  than  that  of  the  Romans :  still, 
after  a  fierce  and  obstinate  combat,  they  were  again  defeated,  and  many 
of  them,  seeing  that  further  resistance  would  be  fruitless,  surrendered 
at  discretion. 

The  summer  being  now  far  advanced,  Germanicus  ordered  some  of 
the  legions  to  return  by  land  to  winter  quarters;  he  himself  sailed  with 
the  rest  down  the  river  Amisia  to  the  Ocean.  The  weather  was  favor- 
able, and  the  sea  presented  no  other  roughness  on  its  surface,  than  that 
occasioned  by  the  stroke  of  the  oars  and  the  rapid  motion  of  a  thous- 
and vessels.  But  this  calm  was  of  short  duration.  The  sky  became 
overcast;  a  storm  of  hail  burst  upon  them  with  sudden  fury  ;  squalls 
of  wind  drove  the  billows  in  different  directions;  and  the  pilot  no 
lonqr-r  knew  wh:>r  rourso  to  steer.  Horses,  arms  and  baggage  were 
arowD  overboard  in  order  to  lighten  the  ships;  still  many  of  them  wure 


28  MODERN  HISTORY. 


Part 


either  sunk,  or  wrecked  on  distant  islands,  where  the  soldiers  perished 
by  famine  or  lived  only  upon  the  carcasses  of  horses  cast  by  the  sea 
upon  the  beach. 

At  length  the  storm  abated,  and  the  remaining  vessels  successfully 
reached  the  land.  Germanicus,  almost  driven  to  despair,  took  every 
possible  care  to  gather  and  comfort  his  troops,  and  furnish  them  with 
new  arms  and  clothes.  Having  refitted  the*  fleet,  he  sent  ships  to  the 
islands  scattered  through  the  German  Sea,  in  search  of  the  soldiers 
who  had  been  cast  away :  by  these  timely  efforts  most  of  them  were 
saved. 

The  news  of  these  disasters  spreading  abroad,  the  Germans  thought 
of  renewing  the  war;  but  Germanicus  was  not  slow  in  counteracting 
their  designs :  two  or  three  parties  of  Roman  troops  very  soon  proved 
to  them  the  frailty  of  their  hopes.  According  to  the  account  given  by 
the  prisoners,  there  never  was  seen  among  the  bqf  barians  more  general 
consternation :  they  were  now  forced  to  confess  that  the  Romans  rose 
superior  to  adversity,  a  nation  of  heroes  not  to  be  in  any  way  subdued; 
and  no  doubt  remained  that  another  summer  would  terminate  the  war. 

But,  Tiberius  could  no  longer  brook  the  idea  that  Germanicus 
should  acquire  so  much  glory  in  the  command  of  armies,  and  he  ar- 
dently desired  his  return.  All  his  letters  were  to  that  effect.  In  them, 
he  remarked  that  it  would  be  much  more  expedient  to  abandon  the 
Germans  to  their  own  dissensions,  and  that  it  was  now  high  time  for 
their  conqueror  to  return,  and  enjoy  in  the  capital  the  glorious  rest 
due  to  his  protracted  labors.  Germanicus  obeyed,  though  with  reluc- 
tance. His  entrance  into  the  city  exhibited  a  magnificent  spectacle; 
and,  that  nothing  might  be  wanting  to  the  splendor  of  the  occasion, 
Tiberius  ordered  money  to  be  distributed  among  the  people  and  the 
soldiers,  in  the  name  of  the  young  prince.  He  moreover  appointed 
him  his  colleague  in  the  consulship  for  the  ensuing  year;  but  these 
marks  of  good  will,  though  specious,  were  by  no  one  thought  sincere. 

It  is  true,  however,  that  what  he  had  foreseen  with  regard  to  the 
termination  of  the  war,  really  happened.  The  different  nations  of 
Germany,  no  longer  dreading  a  foreign  power,  began,  according  to 
the  custom  of  barbarians,  to  quarrel  among  themselves.  Various  bat- 
tles were  fought,  in  which  Arminius,  at  the  head  of  his  countrymen, 
the  Cheruscans,  maintained  his  former  glory,  and  gave  to  the  power 
of  the  Marcoman  king  Maroboduus,  a  fatal  blew  from  which  this 
prince  never  recovered.  About  the  same  time,  letters  were  received  at 
Rome  from  another  German  chieftain,  in  which  he  proposed  to  de- 
spatch Arminius,  provided  poison  should  be  sent  well  prepared  for 
that  effect.  These  letters  were  read  in  the  senate ;  but  the  proposal  was 
magnanimously  rejected,  and,  in  imitation  of  the  noble  conduct  of 
ancient  generals  in  similar  circumstances,  Tiberius  answered  the  Ger- 


A.  D.  14—37. 


TIBERIUS.  29 


man  prince  that  it  was  not  by  poison  and  fraud,  but  by  steel  and  open 
force  that  the  Romans  were  accustomed  to  subdue  their  enemies. 

Nevertheless,  Arminius  did  not  long  survive.  When  he  saw  the 
Roman  troops  withdrawn  from  the  German  territories,  and  Maroboduus 
his  chief  rival  fallen,  he  had  the  ambition  to  aim  at  the  sovereign  power. 
The  independent  spirit  of  his  countrymen  turned  many  of  them 
against  him:  Arminius  fought  with  various  success,  and  fell  at  last  by 
the  treachery  of  his  own  relations;  "A  man,"  says  Tacitus,  "un- 
doubtedly to  be  considered  as  the  deliverer  of  Germany,  and  with  far 
more  honor  than  generals  and  kings  of  former  days,  as  he  had  not  merely 
to  cope  with  Rome  in  her  infancy,  but  to  struggle  against  her,  now 
that  she  had  grown  into  a  flourishing  and  powerful  empire.  He  at- 
tacked the  Romans  in  the  height  of  their  glory,  and  in  his  efforts 
against  them,  was  sometimes  victorious,  often  defeated,  yet,  in  the  issue 
of  the  war,  still  unconquered."*  He  lived  only  thirty  seven  years, 
during  twelve  of  which  he  commanded  the  Germanic  league;  leaving 
after  him  a  renown  very  great  indeed,  but  tarnished  by  his  attempt  to 
wrest  from  his  country  men  that  liberty  which  he  and  they  had  so  long 
and  so  gloriously  defended. 

The  death  of  Arminius  lulled  the  emperor's  apprehensions  with 
respect  to  the  Germans,  who  having  lost  their  hero,  did  not  for  a  long 
time  excite  any  dangerous  disturbance,  but  were  contented  with  the 
peace  which  the  Romans  suffered  them  to  enjoy.  This  was  the  great 
object  which  Tiberius  had  ardently  wished  for:  he  desired  nothing  so 
much  as  to  prevent  troubles  and  maintain  tranquillity  in  the  empire. 
Hence,  whilst  he  exercised  his  tyranny  in  Rome,  Italy  and  the  pro- 
vinces had  comparatively  little  to  suffer  under  his  government.  On 
many  occasions,  he  manifested  great  zeal  for  the  due  administration 
of  justice,  and  although  addicted  to  many  gross  vices,  endeavored  to 
stem  the  torrent  of  general  coruption.  Acting  up  to  his  owix  maxirn, 
that  tlte  slteep  must  be  sheared, not  jluycd,  he  took  great  ca  e  that  the 
subjects  of  the  empire  should  not  be  oppressed  by  excessive  taxes, 
and  was  attentive  to  afford  speedy  assistance  to  those  who  experienced 
unavoidable  misfortunes. 

Thus,  when  many  parts  of  Asia  Minor  were  laid  waste  by  a  tre- 
mendous earthquake  which  destroyed  in  one  night  twelve  celebrated 
cities  (A.  r>.  17),  the  liberality  of  the  emperor  was  an  abundant  source  of 
relief  to  the  surviving  inhabitants.  He  granted  them  a  remission  of  all 
tribute  for  five  years,  and  sums  of  money  proportionate  to  their  losses. 
By  this  generosity,  Tiberius  gained  great  encomiums,  and  the  cities  of 
Asia,  to  perpetuate  its  remembrance,  struck  medals  —  some  of  which 
are  vet  extant.  A  few  years  after,  all  that  quarter  of  the  capital  on 

• 

*  Tacit.  Jlnnal,  lib.  II,  n.  LXXXVIII 


30  MODERN   HISTORY. 


Part  1, 


Mount  Cselius  was  destroyed  by  a  conflagration;  Tiberius,  without 
waiting  to  be  solicited  and  petitioned,  and  without  any  partiality  for  the 
rank  of  the  sufferers,  equally  indemnified  all  those  whose  houses  had 
been  burnt;  such  as  had  no  friend  or  protector  at  court,  were  sent  for, 
and  received  the  sums  necessary  to  rebuild  their  dwellings.  At  an- 
other time,  he  gave  a  hundred  millions  of  sesterces  (about  three  mil- 
lions of  dollars),  to  repair  the  losses  occasioned  by  a  similar  accident. 
These  acts  of  generosity  were  the  more  to  his  honor,  as  he  was  very 
modest  in  his  own  buildings.  In  "fine,  there  was  another  kind  of  public 
calamity  that  claimed  and  drew  forth  his  munificence :  the  practice 
of  exacting  heavy  interests,  and  the  want  of  a  good  currency,  having 
caused  scenes  of  great  distress  among  the  people,  he  procured  a  con- 
siderable fund  to  be  lent  out  of  the  imperial  treasury,  without  interest, 
for  three  years,  on  condition  that  the  borrower,  for  the  security  of  the 
exchequer,  should  give  a  mortgage  on  lands  of  double  the  value.  By 
that  seasonable  aid  public  credit  was  revived. 

These  various  examples  plainly  show,  that  Tiberius  was  not  so 
regardless  of  the  miseries  of  his  subjects  as  some  writers  assert. 
Yet,  notwithstanding  these  generous  acts,  it  must  be  confessed  that 
his  character  was  really  perverse  and  cruel.  From  his  very  youth, 
these  defects  had  appeared;  so  much  so,  that  his  tutor  declared  him 
to  be  a  lump  of  clay  moistened  with  blood.  Hence  Rome  and  the 
patrician  families  had  much  to  dread  and  suffer  from  his  suspicious 
policj :  it  was  even  a  misfortune  to  be  nearly  related  to  him,  and 
a  great  part  his  own  family  became  the  unhappy  victims  of  his 
cruel  and  jealous  temper. 

German icus,  after  his  triumph,  was  sent  to  Asia  with  great  pow- 
ers from  the  emperor  and  the  senate,  to  settle  some  important  busi- 
ness, and  tranquillize  many  of  the  provinces  in  which  considerable 
disturbances  had  lately  been  excited.  He  faithfully  executed  his 
commission,  and  conferred  upon  those  countries  innumerable  bene- 
fits, with  a  courteous  dignity  which  enhanced  their  value.  Every 
where,  his  noble  and  generous  conduct  attracted  equally  the  praises 
and  the  affections  of  the  people. 

But  Cneius  Piso,  a  proud  and  violent  man,  had  been  at  the  same 
time  appointed  by  Tiberius  governor  of  Syria,  with  secret  orders,  as 
it  was  believed,  to  annoy,  oppose  and  counteract  Gcrmanicus  in 
every  thing :  a  commission  which,  whether  given  01  feigned,  was 

I  too  faithfully  performed.  For  a  long  time  the  young  prince  bore 
with  patience  and  moderation  the  affronts  and  injuries  heaped  on 
him  by  his  vile  persecutor,  and  even  treated  him  with  generosity ; 
then  an  open  rupture  followed,  shortly  after  wjiich  Germanicus  fell 
sick  and  died  at  Antioch,  under  the  impression  that  he  ha'd  been 
Doiscned  by  Piso  and  his  consort  Plancina. 


i.n.14-3?.  TIBERIUS.  31 

Intense  was  the  grief  occasioned  throughout  the  empire  by  the 
death  of  Germanicus.  When  his  disconsolate  widow  Agrippina 
carried  back  in  an  urn  the  ashes  of  her  husband,  she  found  the 
roads  covered  with  people  whose  tears  and  sighs  told  her  how  deeply 
they  shared  in  her  affliction.  But  it  would  be  difficult  to  describe 
the  sorrow  evinced  in  the  capital;  the  day  on  which  the  remains 
of  the  prince  were  deposited  in  the  tomb  of  Augustus,  was  one  of 
inexpressible  mourning.  Tiberius  himself  manifested  exteriorly  a 
grief  in  which  his  heart  probably  had  no  share,  and  was  obliged  to 
abandon  Piso  to  the  public  indignation.  This  unhappy  man  was  not 
it  is  true,  convicted  of  the  crime  laid  to  his  charge;  but  he  had  COM 
mitted  other  crimes  deserving  the  severity  of  the  law.  Piso  per- 
ceived his  danger:  before  the  trial  was  concluded,  he  was  found  dead 
in  his  chamber,  with  his  throat  cut,  and  a  sword  lying  near  him  on 
the  floor;  but  whether  he  had  committed  suicide,  or  had  been  killed 
by  others  for  fear  of  what  he  might  disclose,  was  left  uncertain. 

The  other  enemies  of  Germanicus  met  with  little  severity;  on  the 
oontrnry,  his  family  supplied  new  victims  to  the  insatiable  hatred  oi 
Tiberius.  So  far  did  the  cruelty  of  the  emperor  extend,  that  he 
caused  Agrippina  and  her  two  eldest  sons  to  perish  by  ill-treatment 
and  starvation.  Having  a  real  affection  for  no  one  but  himself,  ho 
bore  with  a  firmness  bordering  on  insensibility,  the  death  of  his  own 
son  Drusus,  who  had  been  poisoned  by  the  commander  of  the  pra3- 
torian  (imperial)  guards. 

This  commander  was  a  certain  ^Elius  Sejanus,  who,  gaining  the 
favor  of  Tiberius,  rose  from  the  rank  of  a  simple  knight  to  that  of 
his  chief  minister.  New  honors  were  daily  conferred  upon  him,  and 
in  a  short  time  his  power  was  not  far  inferior  to  that  of  Tiberius 
himself.  Not  satisfied  with  this  success,  he  conceived  the  daring 
design  of  opening  his  way  to  the  throne  by  the  extermination  of  the 
imperial  family.  After  Drusus  and  the  sons  of  Germanicus  were 
removed,  he  prevailed  upon  the  emperor  to  retire  from  Rome  for  the 
hake  of  greater  tranquillity,  and  to  intrust  the  reigns  of  government 
lo  him,  la&  tried  and  faithful  minister.  But  whilst  Sejanus,  thus  far 
buccessful,  was  revolving  in  his  mind  the  last  step  for  the  accom- 
plishment of  his  designs,  his  treason  was  detected;  and  Tiberius 
having,  by  a  message,  informed  the  senate  of  the  whole  affair,  sen- 
tence of  death  was  pronounced  against  the  traitor  and  executed 
without  delay.  Most  of  the  friends  and  relations  of  Sejanus  were 
involved  in  his  ruin. 

Whilst  these  painful  transactions  took  place  in  Rome,  Judea  was 
the  theatre  of  most  interesting  events.  For  more  than  three  years, 
our  Lord  favored  it  with  the  public  spectacle  of  his  heavenly  virtues 
and  the  preaching  of  his  Gospel,  which  he  confirmed  by  manv  mi- 


32  MODERN    HISTORY.  Tart  L 

racles;  and  finally,  by  his  passion  and  death,  he  completed  the  great 
work  of  the  redemption  of  mankind  (A.  D.  33).  Three  days  after, 
ne  rose  glorious  from  the  dead;  frequently  appeared  to  his  disciples, 
giving  them,  during  forty  days,  various  necessary  instructions  about 
the  establishment  and  government  of  his  Church;  committed  to  St. 
Peter  the  care  of  his  flock;*  commissioned  him  and  the  other  Apos- 
tles to  go  and  teach  all  nations,  with  the  positive  promise  of  his  daily 
assistance  till  the  end  of  the  world  ;f  and  then  ascended  into  hea- 
ven in  their  presence. 

After  ten  days,  the  Apostles  being  all  assembled  in  Jerusalem,  the 
Holy  Ghost  came  down  upon  them  in  a  visible  manner.  They  im- 
mediately began  to  preach  with  astonishing  success.  The  first  two 
discourses  of  St.  Peter  converted  eight  thousand  Jews:  many  more 
afterwards  became  converts;  so  that,  even  before  the  close  of  Tibe- 
rius' reign,  a  numerous  Church  was  already  established  in  Jerusa- 
lem, whence  the  light  of  the  Gospel  began  to  diffuse  itself  in  every 
direction  and  in  every  part  of  the  world. 

These  are  the  only  consoling  objects  which  present  themselves  to 
our  view  in  the  midst  of  a  deluge  of  crimes;  for  no  age  was  ever 
more  corrupted.  Tiberius,  above  all,  without  ceasing  to  pay  some 
attention  to  the  public  weal,  every  day  gave  fuller  scope  to  his  un- 
ruly passions,  and  to  his  tyrannical  cruelties  against  the  first  families 
of  the  empire.  Informations,  trials  and  executions  were  multiplied, 
and  the  most  illustrious  personages  in  Rome  gradually  disappeared, 
unhappy  objects  of  the  hatred  of  a  suspicious  and  sanguinary 
prince. 

Nothing  can  be  imagined  more  degrading  to  humanity,  than  the 
scenes  which  marked  the  last  years  of  his  life.  No  less  odious  to 
himself  than  to  others,  he  retired  into  the  small  and  at  that  time 
delightful  island  of  Caprea,  a  name  which  no  one  ever  after  remem- 
bered and  pronounced  without  horror.  There  he  abandoned  him- 
self, for  several  years,  to  all  the  excesses  of  the  most  profligate  pas 
sions,  his  cruellies  al \vays  keeping  pace  with  his  debaucheries.  Ai 
length  his  constitution  was  broken,  and  his  strength  began  to  fail.  In 
the  hope  of  finding  a  more  salubrious  situation,  he  left  the  island  of 
Caprea,  and  went  over  to  the  continent,  where,  falling  very  sick  at 
Misenum,  a  promontory  near  Naples,  he  was,  on  the  16th  of  March 
(A.  D.  37),  seized  with  a  fainting  fit,  during  which  many  thought 
him  dead.  He  however  recovered  his  senses:  but  Macro,  the  com- 
mander of  the  praetorian  guard,  who  had  already  paid  his  homage 
to  the  presumed  successor,  gave  orders  that  the  old  emperor  should 
be  smothered  with  pillows.  Thus,  in  his  seventy-eighth  year,  and 

*  John  xxi.  16,  17.  f  Matth.  xxviii.  19    20. 


,.  D.  37-  -41. 


CALIGULA.  33 


the  twenty  third  of  his  reign,  Tiberius  perished  by  the  perGdy  of  his 
own  friends;  a  treatment  of  which  he  himself  had  been  so  fre- 
quently guilty. 

He  did  not  reach  at  once  the  height  of  wickedness  which  has  justly 
caused  his  memory  to  be  held  in  detestation:  Tacitus  well  observes 
a  striking  gradation  in  his  course  of  vice  and  tyranny,  and  accurately 
defines  its  different  stages.  "Tiberius,"  says  he,  "was  much  es- 
teemed whilst  a  private  man,  and  as  long  as  he  held  offices  under 
Augustus.  He  was  artful  in  feigning  virtue,  in  the  beginning  of  his 
own  reign,  until  the  death  of  Germanicus  and  Drusus;  his  actions 
were  a  mixture  of  good  and  evil,  during  the  life  time  of  his  mother  Li- 
via;  detestably  cruel,  but  secret  in  his  debaucheries,  while  he  loved  or 
feared  Sejanus;  lastly,  he  abandoned  himself  to  every  sort  of  prolli- 
gacy,  when,  freed  from  all  the  restraints  of  fear  and  shame,  he  knew 
and  followed  no  other  guide  than  the  bent  of  his  abominable  incli- 
nations."* 

Phaedrus,  the  celebrated  fabulist,  and  duintus-Curtius,  the  elegant 
historian  of  Alexander,  lived  under  Tiberius;  the  poets  Persius  and 
Lucan  flourished  shortly  after. 


CALIGULA.— A.  D.  37—41. 

ONE  of  the  sons  of  Germanicus,  not  only  had  escaped  the  ruin  in 
which  the  rest  of  his  family  were  involved,  but  even  constantly  en- 
joyed the  favor  of  Tiberius,  and  became  his  adopted  son.  This  was 
Caius,  better  known  by  the  name  of  Caligula  (from  Caliga,  a  sort 
of  military  boot  which  he  had  been  accustomed  to  wear,  whilst  yet  a 
child,  in  the  camp  of  his  father).  He  succeeded  the  late  emperor 
without  opposition,  and  even  to  the  great  satisfaction  of  the  whole 
empire ;  indeed  he  seemed  at  first,  by  several  acts  of  clemency  and 
beneficence,  to  deserve  this  mark  of  public  esteem.  He  restored  many 
privileges  to  the  people ;  delivered  innocent  and  calumniated  persons 
from  prison  and  banishment;  abolished  arbitrary  prosecutions  for 
crimes  of  state;  and  evinced  so  good  intentions,  that  he  received 
from  the  senate  the  most  flattering  honors. 

But  the  joy  of  the  Romans  was  not  of  long  duration,  and  their 
hopes  of  a  prosperous  government  were  cruelly  deceived.  Caligula 
was  taken  dangerously  ill,  and  after  his  recovery,  either  because  he 
was  unwilling  any  longer  to  restrain  his  passions,  or  because  his 
intellect  had  been  impaired  by  the  violence  of  the  disease,  he  began 

*  Tacit.  Annal.  lib.Vl.  n.  LVI. 


34  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Pan 


to  act  like  a  madman,  and  indulged  in  every  species  of  injustice,  cru- 
elty and  licentiousness. 

He  commenced  his  extravagant  career  by  spending,  in  games  and 
foolish  entertainments,  two  billions  five  hundred  millions  of  sesterces 
(about  sixty-three  millions  of  dollars),  in  less  than  one  year ;  and 
when  the  public  treasury  was  drained,  he  had  recourse  to  the  mosl 
frightful  extortions.  Daily  confiscations,  oppressive  taxes,  rapine, 
plunder  and  murder  of  the  wealthiest  citizens,  wore  the  means  to 
which  Caligula  resorted,  in  order  to  gather  heaps  of  gold  and  silver  for 
the  indulgence  of  his  uninterrupted  extravagance.  On  one  occasion, 
being  at  play,  he  happened  to  want  money.  He  sent  for  the  public 
register  which  contained  the  names  of  the  property-holders,  condemned 
a  certain  number  of  them  to  death,  and  said,  with  a  smile,  to  those 
with  whom  he  was  playing:  "  How  unlucky  you  are!  It  has  taken 
you  a  long  time  to  win  a  small  sum,  and  in  one  moment  I  have  won 
six  hundred  millions  of  sesterces  (fifteen  millions  of  dollars)." 

In  barbarity  Caligula  was  never  surpassed.  He  wished  that  the 
Roman  people  had  but  one  head,  that  it  might  be  struck  off  at  a  blow. 
This  being  impossible,  he  at  least  caused  many  persons  to  be  massa- 
cred by  his  soldiers,  or  thrown  into  the  arena,  there  to  be  devoured  by 
wild  beasts,  their  tongues  having  been  previously  cut  out,  to  prevent 
them  from  complaining.  He  forced  others  to  kill  themselves,  among 
the  rest  young  Tiberius  his  cousin,  and  grand-son  of  the  late  emperor. 
Neither  rank  nor  age  was  exempt  from  his  fury.  At  a  repast  with 
the  two  consuls,  he  suddenly  burst  into  a  loud  laugh  :  the  consuls  hav- 
ing respectfully  entreated  him  to  acquaint  them  with  the  cause  of  his 
extraordinary  joy;  "I  was  thinking,"  he  replied,  " that  it  requires 
but  a  sign  from  me,  to  have  both  of  you  killed  in  an  instant."  It  was 
his  pleasure  to  see  the  victims  of  his  monstrous  cruelty  suffer  excru- 
ciating torments;  his  delight  to  make  them  feel  death,  and  behold  their 
blood  flowing  and  their  limbs  scattered. 

The  more  ferocious  and  barbarous  he  was  towards  men,  the  more 
kind  and  feeling  he  was  towards  beasts.  He  honored  his  horse, 
called  Incitatits,  in  every  manner  he  could  imagine :  he  gave  him  a 
palace,  with  guards,  servants,  a  cook,  and  such  other  attendants  as 
the  happy  animal  might  require  in  order  to  entertain  his  guests  with 
due  solemnity.  He  invited  him  to  his  own  table,  at  which  he  gave 
him  gilded  barley  to  eat,  and  wine  to  drink  in  golden  cups.  Incitatus 
was  clothed  in  purple,  wore  a  collar  of  pearls,  and  the  night  before  he 
had  to  run  in  the  race,  sentinels  were  placed  around  his  palace,  to 
prevent  the  least  noise  that  might  disturb  his  repose.  In  fine,  Caligula 
vas  accustomed  to  swear  by  his  horse,  and  he  would  have  appointed 
him  consul,  had  he  not  been  prevented  by  death. 

His  military  exploits  were  not   less   extravagant.     In  addition  to 


A    D.  41-54. 


CLAUDIUS.  35 


the  armies  stationed  in  various  parts  of  the  empire,  he  raised 
new  troops,  and  went  with  them  and  a  band  of  comedians,  buffoons, 
and  gladiators,  to  join  the  old  legions  encamped  on  the  banks  of  the 
Rhine.  Here  he  found  himself  at  the  head  of  nearly  two  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  men.  As  the  Germans  scorned  to  fight  against 
such  a  general ;  that  he  might  not  leave  the  frontier  without  some 
semblance  of  victory,  he  contrived  a  scheme  in  perfect  accordance 
with  his  character.  A  detachment  of  his  own  troops  was  sent  to  the 
other  side  of  the  Rhine,  with  secret  orders  to  conceal  themselves  in 
a  wood.  Then  Caligula,  crossing  over  at  fhe  head  of  the  legions, 
marched  against  them  j  the  pretended  enemy  was  easily  routed,  and 
the  emperor  returned  crowned  with  laurels. 

His  courage  impelled  him  afterwards  to  go  to  the  sea-coast  facing 
Great  Britain.  As  soon  as  he  arrived,  he  drew  up  the  legions  along 
the  shore,  and  having  gone  up  a  short  Distance  in  the  imperial  galley, 
returned  in  great  haste  and  gave  the  signal  for  battle.  The  soldiers, 
with  surprise,  asked  who  was  their  enemy  j  when  Caligula  informed 
them  that  the  enemy  was  the  ocean  just  conquered  by  him  in  their 
presence,  and  that  they  had  nothing  else  to  do  than  collect  the  shells 
thrown  on  the  shore,  as  trophies  of  this  great  victory.  The  better  to 
perpetuate  the  remembrance  of  so  glorious  an  event,  he  laid  the  foun- 
dation of  a  lofty  tower,  and  set  out  for  Rome,  in  order  to  give  himseli 
the  honors  of  a  triumph. 

To  fill  up  the  measure  of  his  absurdities,  he  even  arrogated  to  him 
self  divine  honors.  He  had  a  temple  erected  to  his  name,  and  a  statue 
to  which  sacrifices  were  offered.  Of  the  order  of  sacrificators  insti- 
tuted for  this  purpose,  the  principal  members  were  his  uncle  Claudius, 
his  wife,  his  horse,  and  himself. 

At  last  it  entered  into  the  mind  of  Caligula  that  the  Jews  were  a 
most  unhappy  people  in  not  acknowledging  him  as  a  god;  he  there- 
fore resolved  to  have  his  statue  placed  and  adored  in  the  temple  of 
Jerusalem.  But  before  he  could  execute  his  design,  a  violent  death 
closed  his  career  of  crime  and  impiety.  Cherea,  a  tribune  of  the  pre- 
torian  guards,  stabbed  him  in  the  middle  of  Rome,  after  he  had  reigned 
four,  and  lived  twenty-nine  years  (A.  D.  41).  His  name  is  every 
where  recorded  as  that  of  the  worst  of  men  and  a  monster  of  cruelty. 


CLAUDIUS.— A.  D.  41—54. 

ON  the  assassination  of  Caligula,  dreadful  confusion  followed  in 
Rome.     It  was  the  wish  of  the  senate  to  re-establish  the  common- 


36  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Part 


wealth;  but  the  praetorians  proclaimed  Claudius  emperor,  and  the 
senators  were  compelled  to  submit. 

This  Claudius  was  the  brother  of  Germanicus,  and  uncle  of  Call 
gula  ;  a  man  of  so  weak  an  intellect  and  such  unconquerable  timidity, 
tkat  his  mother  Antonia,  when  she  met  with  any  silly  person,  was 
accustomed  to  say:  "He  is  as  great  a  fool  as  my  son  Claudius.  " 
Such  a  man  was  assuredly  more  in  need  of  being  governed,  than 
qualified  to  govern  others;  yet,  for  the  greater  humiliation  of  heathen 
Rome,  Almighty  God  permitted  him  to  hold  the  sceptre  during  thir 
teen  years. 

The  most  important  event  of  his  reign  was  an  invasion  of  Great 
Britain,  which  reduced  a  considerable  part  of  that  country  to  the,  Ro- 
man power.  Hitherto,  the  Britons  had  retained  their  original  inde- 
pendence; but  at  the  instigation  of  Beric,  a  British  chieftain  whom 
domestic  factions  had  driven  from  his  native  land,  the  emperor  com- 
manded Aulus  Plautius  to  undertake  the  conquest  with  four  legions 
and  their  auxiliaries.  It  was  with  great  difficulty  ihat  the  troops  were 
induced  to  engage  in  the  attempt,  and  go  to  another  world;  for  such 
they  considered  Great  Britain:  at  length  they  followed  their  general, 
crossed  the  channel,  and  landed,  as  it  appears,  in  the  county  of  Kent. 
The  natives,  notwithstanding  their  fright  at  the  first  appearance  of 
the  invaders,  made  a  gallant  resistance;  but,  overpowered  by  the 
well-disciplined  troops  of  the  Romans,  they  soon  began  to  give  way, 
and  Plautius,  pursuing  his  advantage,  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Thames.  No  sooner  was  Claudius  informed  of  the  success  of  his 
lieutenant,  than  he  set  out  to  take  the  command  in  person.  He  did 
not,  however,  stay  more  than  sixteen  days  in  the  island  :  after  receiv- 
ing the  submission  of  the  natives  in  the  vicinity,  he  returned  to  Rome, 
where  he  enjoyed  the  honors  of  a  magnificent  triumph. 

The  Avar  nevertheless  was  not  yet  ended.  Plautius,  who  was  left 
behind  with  a  powerful  army,  spent  four  years  more  in  extending 
and  securing  his  conquests.  Vespasian,  an  officer  whose  merit  af- 
terwards raised  him  to  the  throne,  greatly  distinguished  himself  in 
that  expedition  :  at  the  head  of  a  Roman  legion  and  some  auxili- 
aries, he  fought  thirty  battles,  took  twenty  towns,  and  subdued  two 
of  the  British  nations.  Thus,  a  great  part  of  the  country  north  and 
south  of  the  Thames,  was  reduced  into  a  Roman  province. 

Five  years  after  the  beginning  of  the  war  (A.  D.  48),  Plautius  went 
to  receive,  in  the  capital  of  the  empire,  the  reward  of  his  services, 
and  was  succeeded  in  Britain  by  Ostorius  Scapula,  who  not  only  kept, 
but  even  enlarged  the  conquests  of  his  predecessor.  Soon  after  his 
arrival,  he  was  suddenly  attacked  by  the  Britons  bordering  on  the 
Roman  province,  who  thought  that  an  extraordinary  effort  might  rid 
them  of  their  invaders,  at  a  time  when  the  new  general  was  yet  un- 


41-64. 


CLAUDIUS.  37 


acquainted  wjth  their  manner  of  w  fare  and  the  rigor  of  their  win- 
ters. Ostorius,  sensible  how  much  the  reputation  of  a  commander 
depends  on  his  first  success,  immediately  marched  against  them,  cut 
to  pieces  those  who  resisted,  and  dispersed  the  survivors.  A  second 
victory,  which  in  a  short  time  followed  the  first,  gave  him  a  decided 
superiority  over  the  natives. 

But,  the  Silures  who  lived  between  the  Severn  and  the  Irish  Sea, 
were  not  so  easily  subdued.  Led  on  by  Caractacus,  the  greatest 
warrior  in  the  country,  they  continued  to  defend  their  liberty  with 
undaunted  courage.  Their  army,  bv  the  arrival  of  many  allies,  be- 
came very  numerous,  and  so  great  was  their  animosity  against  the 
Romans,  that  Ostorius  could  not  without  difficulty  be  induced  to  give 
them  battle.  His  troops  loudly  insisting,  and  crying  out  that  they 
were  sure  of  victory,  Ostorius  looked  upon  their  ardor  as  a  happy 
presage,  nor  was  he  deceived  in  his  expectation.  No  obstacle  could 
successfully  oppose  the  Roman  legions.  They  crossed  a  river,  en- 
tered the  enemy's  intrenchments,  and  amidst  a  shower  of  darts,  oc- 
cupied the  heights  on  which  their  adversaries  had  posted  themselves. 
The  Silures  were  entirely  defeated.  The  family  of  Caractacus  fell  into 
the  hands  of  the  victors,  and  the  chieftain  himself,  betrayer!  by  his 
own  relations,  was  delivered  in  chains  to  the  Roman  general. 

This  event  was  celebrated  in  Rome  with  great  joy.  "  The  fame 
of  Caractacus  had  already  crossed  the  seas;  and  the  natives  of  Italy 
were  anxious  to  behold  the  man  who  had  braved  for  nine  years  the 
power  of  Rome.  As  he  passed  through  the  imperial  city,  he  ex- 
pressed his  surprise  that  men  who  possessed  such  palaces  at  home, 
should  deem  it  worth  their  while  to  fight  for  the  wretched  hovels  of 
Britain."*-  He  appeared  in  the  presence  of  Claudius  with  charac- 
teristic magnanimity,  and,  whilst  the  other  prisoners  bewailed  with 
tears  their  unhappy  fate,  he  behaved  and  spoke  like  a  hero.  The 
emperor  treated  him  with  kindness,  and  set  him  and  his  family  at 
liberty. 

The  other  events  of  the  reign  of  Claudius  are  little  worthy  of  no- 
jice.  His  government  was  a  mixture  of  good  and  evil,  from  the  va- 
riety of  good  and  evil  counsels  which  he  received,  and  according  as 
he  was  left  to  his  natural  moderation,  or  controlled  by  base  advisers. 
In  private,  he  led  a  contemptible  life,  and  after  being  infamously  dis- 
honored by  Messalina,  his  first  wife,  he  was  poisoned  by  his  second 
wife  Agrippina. 

This  Agrippina,  the  daughter  of  Germanicus,  was  a  wicKrd  and 
ambitious  princess,  who  used  her  utmost  endeavors  to  secure  the  suc- 
cession to  the  throne  for  Domitius,  her  son  by  a  former  husband, 

*  Lingard's  Hist,  of  Eng.  vol.  I.  A.  P.  52. 


38  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Part  I 


Having  at  length  prevailed  upon  Claudius  to  adopt  Domitias,  and 
confer  on  him  the  title  of  Caesar,  to  the  exclusion  of  his  own  son 
Britannicus,  she  soon  effected  the  object  of  her  wishes,  by  poisoning 
the  stupid  emperor.  He  died  in  the  14th  year  of  his  reign,  the  64th 
of  his  life,  and  the  54th  of  the  Christian  era. 


NERO.— A.  D.  54—68. 


THE  son  of  Agrippina,  on  assuming  the  imperial  crown,  exchanged 
his  birth-name  Domitius  for  that  of  Claudius  Nero,  the  name  of  his 
adoptive  family.  He  had  enjoyed  the  benefits  of  a  good  education 
under  the  philosopher  Seneca.  While  controlled  by  this  wise  tutor, 
and  by  Burrhus,  the  commander  of  his  guards,  a  man  of  great  ta- 
lents and  integrity,  Nero  preserved  a  show  of  decency  in  his  pub- 
lic conduct.  Like  Tiberius  and  Caligula,  he  commenced  his  reign 
by  performing  several  laudable  acts,  took  great  care  to  have  the  city 
plentifully  supplied  with  every  thing  needful,  and  gave  considerable 
pensions  to  poor  senators  who  could  not  otherwise  support  their  rank 
and  dignity.  On  a  certain  day,  when  a  death-warrant  was  brought 
to  him  to  be  signed;  "I  wish,"  said  he,  "I  had  never  learned  to 
write."  When  the  senate,  on  one  occasion,  had  offered  him  their 
sincere  thanks,  he  replied:  "I  shall  be  happy  to  receive  your  thanks, 
when  I  truly  deserve  them."  In  a  word,  Nero's  actions,  in  the  be- 
beginning,  were  characterised  by  clemency,  liberality,  kindness,  and 
every  thing1  calculated  to  win  the  affections  of  the  people. 

But  his  vices  could  not  long  brook  restraint;  his  true  character 
appeared  in  its  native  deformity,  a  compound  of  all  that  is  cruel,  in- 
famous and  base.  His  cruelty  first  displayed  itself  in  the  poisoning 
of  his  young  brother  Britannicus,  whose  gentle  disposition  had  ex- 
cited his  fears  lest  he  should  gain  too  much  upon  the  favor  of  the 
Romans.  The  poison  which  perfidious  officers  administered  to  the 
young  prince  at  table,  was  so  violent,  that  he  presently  lost  the  use 
of  his  senses,  fell  upon  the  floor,  and  soon  expired;  whilst  Nero,  who 
was  present,  and  scarcely  eighteen  years  old,  beheld  that  awful  spec- 
tacle with  the  steadiness  of  a  tyrant  already  hardened  in  crime. 

This  atrocious  deed  was  but  a  prelude  to  another  still  more  hei- 
nous, the  murder  of  his  mother  Agrippina.  He  endeavored  first  to 
have  her  drowned  in  the  sea;  but,  this  plan  failing,  she  was,  by  his 
command,  slain  in  a  house  into  which  she  had  retired. 

After  such  crimes,  nothing,  how  horrid  soever,  can  appear  asto- 
nishing in  the  life  of  such  a  monster  as  Nero.  He  spared  neither  his 


54—68. 


JVERO.  39 


first  wife,  Octavia,  whose  veins  were  opened  by  his  orders;  nor  his 
second,  called  Poppea,  whom,  in  a  fit  of  rage,  he  killed  by  a  blow 
with  his  foot:  nor  his  tutor  Burrhus,  whom,  it  was  believed,  he  poi- 
soned, in  order  to  rid  himself  of  his  admonitions;  nor  his  preceptor 
Seneca,  who,  together  with  the  poet  Lucan,  being  accused  of  having 
taken  part  in  some  conspiracy  against  him,  was  commanded  to  termi- 
nate his  own  existence;  a  command  which  both  obeyed.*  Nero  sported 
with  the  lives  of  others,  and  Rome  daily  lost  her  most  virtuous  and 
illustrious  citizens,  the  victims  of  his  tyranny. 

In  the  mean  time,  it  was  necessary  to  adopt  measures  for  repelling 
the  Parthians  from  Armenia,  which  they  had  lately  invaded.  Corbulo, 
a  general  of  well  known  talents,  was  sent  against  them.  When  he 
arrived  in  Syria  to  take  the  command  of  the  legions,  he  found  them 
greatly  weakened  by  idleness  and  insubordination.  His  first  care  was 
to  subject  them,  as  well  as  the  new  levies,  to  the  laws  of  strict  disci- 
pline, and  to  train  them  to  the  hardships  of  war  by  constant  labor, 
painful  marches  or  encampments,  and  other  military  exercises;  by 
rewards  properly  bestowed  and  punishments  justly  inflicted;  but  par- 
ticularly by  giving  to  all  the  example  of  unshaken  courage  in  dangers, 
and  unconquerable  fortitude  in  enduring  fatigue. 

As  soon  as  Corbulo  could  rely  on  his  troops,  he  led  them  against 
the  enemy.  On  their  side,  the  Parthians  advanced  against  him,  under 
the  command  of  Tiridate,  a  brother  to  their  king  Vologeses.  Accord- 
ing to  their  custom,  they  moved  with  rapidity  from  place  to  place, 
and  by  this  wild  and  desultory  warfare,  more  than  by  victories,  kept 
the  country  in  constant  alarm.  Corbulo  endeavored,  but  in  vain,  to 
bring  them  to  an  engagement:  he  was  obliged  to  adopt  the  very  plan 
of  the  enemy,  and  dividing  his  troops  into  separate  bodies,  at  last  suc- 
ceeded in  counteracting  all  the  operations  of  Tiridate. 

This  however  did  not  suffice  to  terminate  the  war,  and  more  decisive 
measures  were  resorted  to  by  the  Roman  general.  He  pressed  for- 
ward, compelled  all  the  towns  and  fortresses  in  his  way  to  surrender 
and  finally  arrived  before  Artaxate,  the  capital  of  Armenia:  it  was  taken 
in  one  day,  and  burnt,  after  sufficient  time  had  been  allowed  to  the 
inhabitants  to  save  their  lives;  Tigranocerta,  another  important  city, 
surrendered  without  resistance,  and  was  spared  by  the  conquerors. 
The  Parthians,  then  terrified  at  the  sudden  and  repeated  successes  of 
Corbulo,  sued  for  peace.  It  was  granted,  and  even  Armenia,  which 
had  been  the  chief  occasion  of  this  long  struggle,  was  given  as  a  pos- 
n  to  Tiridate,  on  the  sole  condi-tion  that  he  would  lay  down  his 
diadem  at  the  fe"et  of  the  emperor's  statue  in  the  Roman  camp,  and 
afterwards  repah  to  Rome,  to  receive  it  again  from  the  emperor  hiin- 

*  See  note  A. 


40  MODERN    HISTORY.  Part  l. 

self.  Terms  so  favorable  to  his  fortune,  the  Parthian  prince  readily 
accepted  and  faithfully  executed.  The  Romans,  on  their  part,  strictly 
fulfilled  their  engagements;  thus  we  see  that  they  were  still  terrible  in 
battle,  and  moderate  after  victory. 

What  Corbulo  did  in  Asia,  was  done  in  Great  Britain  by  Suetonius 
Paulinus,  another  famous  general.  To  him  the  empire  was  indebted 
for  the  reduction  of  the  isle  of  Mona,  now  called  Anglesey,  where  he 
established  a  garrison  and  destroyed  the  groves  used  by  the  natives  for 
their  cruel  and  superstitious  rites.  But  the  Britons,  availing  them- 
of  his  absence,  formed  a  powerful  league  to  recover  their  free- 
dom, and  to  throw  off  a  yoke  which  the  insolence  and  extortions  of 
the  Roman  soldiers  rendered  every  day  more  oppressive.  The  whole 
province  rose  in  arms;  the  colonies  founded  by  the  conquerors  w«T«i 
laid  waste  with  fire  and  sword;  London  and  other  municipal  towns 
were  pillaged,  and  their  inhabitants  slaughtered  to  the  number  of 
seventy  thousand  persons,  all  citizens  or  allies. 

Suetonius  had  returned,  and  was  now  endeavoring  to  put  down 
the  insurrection.  He  formed  his  best  troops  into  one  body  of  about 
ten  thousand  men,  and  determined,  notwithstanding  the  enormous 
disproportion  between  this  number  and  that  of  the  insurgents,  to  at- 
tack them,  and  bring  on  a  decisive  battle.  For  this  end,  he  selected 
a  spot  encircled  with  woods,  narrow  at  the  entrance,  and  protected 
in  the  rear  by  a  thick  forest.  In  that  situation,  he  had  no  fear  of  an 
ambuscade,  and  the  enemy  had  no  access  except  in  front.  The  Bri- 
tons brought  into  the  open  plain  that  lay  before  them,  an  immense 
multitude  of  warriors  (no  less  than  two  hundred  and  thirty  thousand, 
according  to  Dion  Cassius),  under  the  command  of  dueen  Boadicea, 
a  woman  of  masculine  courage.  They  were  already  exulting,  and 
so  confident  of  victory,  that  they  had  placed  their  wives  upon  wagons 
at  the  extremity  of  the  plain,  to  enable  them  to  survey  the  action, 
and  behold  the  wonders  of  British  valor. 

When  the  signal  for  battle  was  given,  the  Britons  seeing  the  Ro 
mans  silent  and  motionless  in  their  narrow  defile,  advanced  with  ra- 
pidity, and  discharged  their  darts.  At  that  moment,  the  legionaries 
rushed  forward  in  the  form  of  a  wedge;  the  cavalry  at  the  same  time 
bore  down  upon  the  enemy,  and  overpowered  all  who  dared  to  resist. 
The  Britons  betook  themselves  to  flight;  but,  as  a  retreat  was  ex 
tremely  difficult,  on  account  of  the  wagons  which  they  had  placed 
in  the  rear,  a  dreadful  slaughter  ensued,  in  which  eighty  thousand  of 
these  unfortunate  people  are  said  to  have  perished ;  whereas  the  Ro- 
mans lost  only  lour  hundred  men.  This  splendid  victory,  equal  to  an) 
of  ancient  times,  greatly  contributed  to  keep  Britain  in  subjeninri; 
the  more  so,  as  Boadicea,  unable  to  bear  the  idea  of  such  a  <'. 


A.  D.  54—68. 


NERO.  41 


survived  but  a  very  short  time.  Still,  the  country  was  not  entirely 
subdued  until  the  reign  of  Domitian. 

Whilst,  at  the  two  extremities  of  the  empire,  Corbulo  and  Sue- 
tonius maintained  its  majesty,  in  Rome  it  was  more  and  more  de- 
graded by  Nero.  He  plunged  without  shame  into  every  kind  of  de- 
bauchery. He  frequently  spent  the  night  in  running  through  the 
streets,  in  the  garb  of  a  slave,  accompanied  by  a  band  of  rioters, 
with  whom  he  attacked  every  one  that  he  met,  and  stole  whatever 
fell  in  his  way.  His  delight  during  the  day  was  to  drive  chariots  in 
the  circus,  or  to  act  the  part  of  a  comedian  on  the  stage :  there  he 
danced,  sang  and  played  on  the  lute,  compelling  the  audience  to  ad- 
mire him  and  give  him  their  applause. 

His  daily  expenses  were  enormous :  he  endeavored  to  dispel  the 
horror  which  his  crimes  excited,  by  making  large  donations  of  lands, 
houses,  gold,  silver,  jewels  and  other  valuable  objects,  to  the  common 
people;  also  by  having  magnificent  plays  and  shows  frequently  re- 
peated. Not  satisfied  with  all  this,  he  was  fond  of  exciting  surprise 
by  the  singularity  of  his  exhibitions,  and  would  often  unite  at  the 
same  time  and  place,  shows  of  a  different  and  even  contrary  kinds : 
for  example,  a  vast  sheet  of  water  would,  the  moment  after  a  sea- 
fight  had  been  performed  on  it,  be  instantly  drained,  and  become  a 
field  of  battle  for  land  troops  and  gladiators.  Dion  Cassius  men- 
tions a  certain  occasion  on  which  the  scene  was  changed  in  this 
manner  four  times  in  one  day. 

While  Nero  thus  consulted  the  gratification  of  the  people,  he  was 
still  more  attentive  to  his  own.  Not  to  mention  the  extravagant 
luxury  of  his  table,  he  built  a  palace  so  magnificent,  so  profusely 
ornamented  with  ivory,  gold  and  precious  stones,  that  it  received  the 
name  of  the  "golden  palace."  When  it  was  finished,  Nero  said  that 
then,  for  the  first  time,  he  had  a  decent  habitation.  He  hazarded  at 
gaming  immense  sums  of  money;  never  put  on  the  same  coat  twice  j 
never  undertook  a  journey  without  taking  along  with  him  at  least  a 
thousand  carriages,  with  a  proportionate  number  of  attendants  in 
costly  apparel,  drivers  splendidly  dressed,  and  mules  shod  with  sil- 
ver. In  fine,  he  was  as  fond  of  his  monkey  as  Caligula  had  been 
of  his  horse;  and  accordingly,  he  gave  it  dwellings  in  the  town  and 
lands  in  the  country,  and  after  its  death,  buried  it  with  royal  pomp. 

If  to  this  profusion  we  add  his  mania  for  building,  we  shall  easily 
conceive  how  the  revenues  of  the  whole  empire  were  not  sufficient 
for  Nero.  As  he  was  determined  constantly  to  follow  up  his  extra- 
vagant principles,  rapine  and  extortion  became  his  only  resource. 
Towards  the  end  of  his  reign,  so  exorbitant  were  the  contributions 
which  he  exacted,  that  not  only  Italy,  but  also  the  provinces,  all  the 
parts  of  the  empire,  and  even  the  allies,  were  ruined. 


42  MODERN  HISTORY.  Part  r 

His  cruelties  were  always  equal  to  his  other  enormities.  The  blood 
of  illustrious  citizens  continued,  under  various  pretences,  to  be  spilt  in 
Rome;  "At  last,"  says  Tacitus,  "Nero  desired  to  destroy  virtue  it- 
self, by  putting  to  death  Barea  Soranus  and  Thrasea  Psctus,  the  two 
most  distinguished  and  virtuous  members  of  the  senate."*  Corbulo, 
as  the  reward  of  his  great  services,  received  sentence  of  capital  pun- 
ishment, the  execution  of  which  he  prevented  by  killing  himself; 
and  Vespasian  narrowly  escaped  the  same  fate,  for  having  slept 
whilst  the  emperor  was  singing  on  the  stage. 

It  seemed  that  nothing  more  was  requisite  to  render  Nero  an  ac- 
complished monster,  than  that  he  should  become  an  incendiary;  and 
such  he  really  became  (A.  D.  64).  To  him  most  historians  attribute 
the  famous  conflagration  which  in  that  year  destroyed  two-thirds  of 
Rome.  It  lasted  nine  days,  during  which  there  was  nothing  to  be 
seen  in  the  city  but  consternation  and  despair.  Nero,  on  the  con- 
trary, from  the  summit  of  a  tower,  contemplated  with  delight  the 
devouring  flames,  and  in  a  theatrical  dress,  sang  verses  on  the  burn- 
ing of  Troy.  Such,  at  least,  was  the  common  report  at  the  time. 

The  town  was  rebuilt  upon  a  new  and  more  regular  plan;  but  the 
wretched  prince,  in  order  to  remove  the  just  suspicion  that  it  had 
been  set  on  fire  by  his  orders,  laid  this  crime  to  the  charge  of  the 
Christians,  who,  by  the  apostolic  labors  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul, 
were  already  very  numerous  in  Rome.  As  the  purity  of  their  lives 
was  a  censure  on  the  corruption  of  the  age,  and  their  total  separation 
from  pagnn  festivities,  an  occasion  of  hatred  and  contempt,  Nero 
thought  them  fit  subjects  for  public  vengeance.f  Numbers  of  them 

*  Tacit.  Jlnnal.  lib.  XVI,  n.  xxr. 

f  Thus  an  unjust  and  atrocious  charge  gave  rise  to  the  first  persecution 
which  the  Church  of  Christ  had  to  sutler  from  the  Gentiles.  It  was  fit  that 
her  first  persecutor  should  be  the  same  prince  who  proved  an  enemy  to  all 
virtue.  But  the  example  being  once  set  by  him,  was  afterwards  too  faith- 
fully imitated,  and  from  this  time  to  the  reign  of  Constantine  the  Great,  the 
Christians  were  almost  continually  vexed  and  tormented,  as  well  under  the 
good  as  under  the  bad  emperors. 

These  persecutions  were  carried  on,  sometimes  by  command  of  the  em- 
perors themselves  urged  on  by  ruthless  magistrates;  sometimes  by  an  in- 
surrection of  the  people ;  and  sometimes  by  solemn  decrees  pronounced  in 
the  senate,  upon  the  rescripts  of  princes,  or  in  their  presence.  Then  the 
persecution  was  more  universal  and  bloody ;  and  thus  the  malice  of  unbe- 
lievers, ever  inveterately  bent  on  destroying  the  Church,  was  excited,  from 
lime  to  time,  to  new  acts  of  fury.  From  these  successive  outbreaks  of  vio- 
lence, ecclesiastical  historians  reckon  ten  persecutions  under  ten  emperors. 

Of  all  the  faithful,  the  bishops  were  always  the  most  severely  treated ; 

of  all  the  Churches,  the  Church  of  Rome  was  persecuted  with  the  greatest 
violence;  and  thirty  Sovereign  Ponti/is  sealed  with  their  blood  that  ( 
which  they  declared  to  the  whole  earth.  —  See  Bossuet,  Discourse  c/ 
',  part  I,  ad  mm.  60  and  95. 


A.  D.  54—68. 


NERO  43 


were  arrested,  and  doomed  to  suffer  the  most  friglitful  torments. 
Some,  wrapped  in  the  skins  of  wild  beasts,  were  left  to  be  devoured 
by  dogs;  others,  fixed  to  a  cross,  waited  in  the  most  cruel  agonies, 
the  slow  approach  of  death;  others  were  burned  alive,  and  many, 
covered  with  inflammable  matter  which  was  set  on  fire,  served  as 
torches  during  the  night  in  the  imperial  gardens.  In  order  to  enjoy 
this  awful  spectacle,  Nero  went  through  the  avenues  in  his  chariot,  in 
the  dress  of  a  charioteer.  It  was  during  this  persecution  that  St.  Peter 
and  St.  Paul  suffered  martyrdom,  the  former  by  the  cross,  the  latter 
by  the  sword,  both  at  Rome,  and  on  the  same  day. 

Nero  had  now  gone  through  all  the  stages  of  his  execrable  life. 
His  power  was  upheld  only  by  terror,  and  by  numerous  troops  of 
satellites  whom  he  amply  rewarded.  At  length,  all  mankind,  whose 
oppressor  he  was,  rose  up  against  him,  after  Vindex  in  Gaul  and 
Galba  in  Spain  had  given  the  signal  of  the  general  insurrection. 
The  news,  disregarded  at  first  by  Nero,  very  soon  filled  him  with 
terror  and  rage.  It  was  reported  that,  in  his  despair,  he  wished  to 
send  assassins  into  all  the  provinces,  to  kill  the  governors,  the  gene- 
rals of  armies  and  the  exiles,  to  poison  the  senators  at  a  feast,  to  set 
fire  to  the  town  in  various  parts,  and  at  the  same  time  to  let  loose  all 
the  wild  beasts  kept  for  the  public  shows,  in  order  to  prevent  the  in- 
habitants from  extinguishing  the  flames.  He  thought  afterwards  of 
raising  new  troops  for  his  defence,  or  of  moving  by  his  tears  the 
compassion  of  the  army;  and  at  length  resolved  to  fly  into  Egypt. 
But  he  had  neither  time  nor  power  to  execute  any  of  his  designs. 

The  example  of  Vindex  and  Galba  was  readily  followed  throughout 
the  empire,  and  even  in  the  capital  itself  by  the  Praetorian  guards. 
The  tyrant  then  retired  to  a  country-house,  four  miles  from  Rome, 
the  property  of  a  certain  Phaon,  one  of  his  freed-men,  where  he 
hoped  to  remain  concealed ;  but  the  senate,  after  having  been  silent 
and  timid  for  so  long  a  time,  now  ordered  that  he  should  be  sought 
after,  apprehended,  and  put  to  an  ignominious  death.  Nero,  at  the 
first  intelligence  of  the  fatal  edict,  was  struck  with  terror,  and  wept 
both  at  the  approach  of  his  last  hour  and  at  the  loss  of  his  musical 
voice.  Whilst  thus  lamenting,  he  heard  the  sound  of  horses'  feet, 
and  the  noise  of  the  soldiers  sent  to  drag  him  from  his  retreat,  and 
already  quite  near  the  house;  he  then  wished  some  of  his  atten- 
dants to  embolden  him,  by  setting  him  the  example  of  a  voluntary 
death.  As  no  one  was  disposed  to  be  so  complaisant,  he  drew  a  dag- 
ger, and  applying  it  to  his  breast;  "What  a  musician,"  said  he, 
"  the  world  is  going  to  lose !"  Still  he  hesitated  :  at  length,  with  the 
nelp  of  Epaphroditus,  liis  frcedman,  he  stabbed  himself  and  expired, 
in  the  thirty-first  year  of  his  age  and  the  fourteenth  of  his  reign 


44  MODERN   HISTORY. 


fart  1 


(A.  D.  68);  the  very  same  day  (the  eleventh  of  June)  on  which  he  had 
put  his  unfortunate  wife  Octavia  to  death,  six  years  before. 

The  family  of  Caesar  Augustus  became  extinct  by  the  death  of 
Nero.  St.  Augustine  assigns  to  him  the  first  place  in  the  catalogue 
of  wicked  emperors  ;*  an  opinion  which  has  been  embraced  by  pos- 
terity :  for,  in  the  common  judgment  of  men,  no  greater  odium  can 
be  thrown  on  any  prince,  even  on  a  profligate  tyrant,  than  to  call 
him  a  second  Nero. 


GALBA— OTHO— VITELLIUS.— A.  D.  68—69. 

GALBA,  that  governor  of  Spain  whom  we  have  already  mentioned, 
experienced  no  difficulty  in  causing  himself  to  be  acknowledged  em- 
peror. He  was  of  noble  extraction,  venerable  for  his  age,  and  dis- 
tinguished for  his  abilities  in  inferior  employments.  But  when  em- 
peror, his  conduct  answered  neither  the  eminence  of  his  dignity,  nor 
the  public  expectations.  On  the  one  hand,  his  excessive  confidence 
in  unworthy  friends  led  him  into  many  faults  :  on  the  other,  his  par- 
simony and  severity  provoked  the  hatred  of  the  soldiers,  and  their 
fury  rose  to  such  a  pitch,  that  they  stabbed  him  in  the  middle  of 
Rome,  alter  lie  had  reigned  seven  months. 

Otho,  a  dissolute  and  ambitious  man,  who  had  been  the  chief 
leader  of  the  conspiracy  against  Galba,  succeeded  him  upon  the 
throne.  Still,  he  was  acknowledged  only  in  the  capital  and  in  the 
neighboring  provinces,  the  legions  of  Germany,  having  about  the 
same  time,  declared  their  commander  Vitellius  emperor.  The  two 
rivals  had  recourse  to  arms  in  support  of  their  respective  claims. 
Otho  was  successful  in  the  beginning;  but  his  forces  were  soon  after 
defeated  at  Bedriacum,  a  village  near  Cremona  in  Lombardy,  and 
though  he  had  still  numerous  armies  at  his  disposal,  he  killed  him- 
self alter  a  reign  of  three  months :  the  whole  empire  now  declared 
for  Vitellius. 

This  however  was  not  so  much  owing  to  the  abilities  of  Vitellius 
himself,  as  to  the  exertions  of  his  generals  and  the  bravery  of  his 
troops.  His  personal  merit  consisted  chiefly  in  eating  and  drinking. 
He  took  four  abundant  and  costly  meals  every  day,  and  all  countries 
and  seas  were  laid  under  contribution,  in  order  to  furnish  the  most 
exquisite  game  and  fish  for  his  table.  No  repast  could  be  offered  to 
him  below  the  value  of  four  bundled  thousand  sesterces  (about  ten 
thousand  dollars);  so  that  even  the  richest  citizens  were  ruined  by 

*  De  Civil.  Dei,  lib.  V.  c.  xix. 


A.  D.  G8— 69. 


GALBA OTHO VITELLIUS.  45 


the  expenses  which  his  visit  occasioned.  Lucius  Vitellius,  his  brother, 
gave  him  a  dinner  in  which  two  thousand  fishes  and  seven  thousand 
birds  were  served  up  at  table.  His  guests  lost  their  health  in  con 
sequence  of  this  excessive  and  uninterrupted  good  cheer,  and  one  of 
them,  called  Vibius  Priscus,  having  contracted  a  disease  which  dis- 
pensed him  with  attending  those  fatal  repasts,  congratulated  himself, 
saying :  *'I  was  undone,  had  I  not  fallen  sick." 

The  sovereign  power,  thus  degraded  by  so  many  contemptible 
princes,  at  last  passed  into  better  hands.  The  legions  of  the  East, 
justly  indignant  at  seeing  those  of  the  West  and  the  Praetorians  in 
Rome  dispose  of  the  empire  at  their  pleasure,  olfered  the  crown  to 
their  own  general  Vespasian,  a  man  of  low  birth,  but  of  remarkable 
talents.  lie  hesitated  for  a  time,  fearing  the  unhappy  consequences 
that  might  possibly  happen ;  at  length,  he  yielded  to  the  advice  and 
entreaties  of  his  friends,  and  was  acknowledged  emperor  by  all  the 
eastern  provinces.  But  the  main  object  was  to  induce  the  inhabitants 
of  Rome  and  Italy  to  declare  in  his  favor.  As  they  continued  to  side 
with  Vitellius,  Vespasian  resolved  to  subdue  them  by  famine,  and  by 
stopping  the  convoys  of  provisions  from  Egypt.  This  was  indeed  a 
wise  and  prudent  scheme,  though  it  might  have  taken  a  long  time  to 
obtain  full  success;  but  Antonius  Primus,  one  of  Vespasian's  gene- 
rals, rendered  it  unnecessary,  by  the  bold  and  decisive  measure  which 
he  took  to  decide  the  quarrel  at  once.  It  is  interesting  to  see  how,  in  a 
lew  weeks,  this  general,  full  of  ardor  and  activity,  arrived  from  Illyria, 
surmounted  all  obstacles  in  his  way,  repeatedly  defeated  the  Vitellian 
force.--,  and,  pursuing  his  victorious  career,  attacked  Rome  itself,  forced 
an  entrance  into  that  capital,  and  quickly  terminated  tiie  contest  by 
annihilating  the  party  of  Vitellius. 

Primus  entered  Italy  by  the  north,  at  the  head  of  the  Illyricau 
legions  and  some  auxiliaries  from  Mcesia.  His  march  was  rapid, 
and  met  with  little  or  no  resistance,  till  he  reached  the  neighborhood  of 
Cremona,  where  he  found  himself  opposed  by  those  same  legions  of 
Gei  many,  whose  valor  had  placed  Vitellius  on  the  throne.  Two  of  them 
formed  a  sort  of  van-guard,  while  six  others  were  yet  at  a  distance. 
Primus  judged  that  the  success  of  the  whole  campaign  depended  on 
preventing  their  junction,  and  fighting  them  separately.  Accordingly, 
lie  took  along  with  him  four  thousand  horses,  and  leaving  orders  to 
the  infantry  to  follow  as  speedily  as  possible,  he  advanced  against  the 
two  1-  gions.  The  victory  was  entirely  his  work.  At  the  first  attack, 
his  soldiers,  not  expecting  so  vigorous  a  resistance,  fled  in  disorder, 
notwithstanding  the  efforts  of  Primus  to  stop  them.  Pie  appeared 
.  rr  tiicre  was  extreme  danger  or  some  gleam  of  hope,  pierced 
;,is  pike  the  standard-bearer  whom  he  saw  flying,  and  taking 
'he  standard  in  his  own  hands,  turned  it  towards  the  enemy.  His 


40  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Part  r. 


intrepidity  changed  the  fortune  of  the  day.  Shame  at  the  thought  cf 
abandoning  so  brave  a  general,  kept  around  him  about  a  hundred 
horsemen,  and  whilst  they  sustained  the  shock,  their  companions  also 
returned  to  the  field  of  battle.  The  Vitellians  began  to  waver,  were 
routed,  and  retired  into  the  city  of  Cremona. 

In  the  evening,  all  the  forces  of  Primus  were  assembled.  Animated 
by  their  first  success,  they  asked  to  be  led  without  delay  to  the  attack 
of  the  town ;  nor  could  their  ardor  be  checked,  until  they  received  in- 
formation that  the  six  other  Vitellian  legions  had  just  arrived,  and 
were  ready  to  renew  the  battle.  Primus  did  not  lose  one  instant:  he 
arrayed  his  troops,  placed  the  auxiliaries  in  front;  the  legions  five  in 
number,  iu  the  centre;  the  cavalry  on  the  wings  and  rear,  and  in  this 
order  waited  for  the  enemy. 

The  engagi'incMit  became  general  towards  nine  o'clock  at  night;  and 
notwithstanding  the  confusion  which  darkness  necessarily  occasioned, 
was  carried  on  with  a  fury  scarcely  to  be  conceived.  Nearly  the 
whole  night,  the  issue  was  doubtful,  though  there  seemed  to  be  some 
disadvantage  on  the  side  of  Primus,  whose  legions  suffered  dreadfully 
from  the  military  engines  of  their  opponents.  The  light  of  the  rising 
moon  began  to  turn  the  bloody  contest  in  his  favor.  The  shadows  of 
bodies  were  projected  towards  the  Vitellians,  who,  deceived  by  the 
appearance  and  believing  the  enemy  to  be  nearer,  did  not  throw  theii 
darts  far  enough:  whereas  they  themselves  were  clearly  discerned  by 
their  foes,  who  hurled  their  weapons  with  unerring  aim.* 

No  sooner  could  Primus  distinguish  objects,  than  he  went  through 
every  rank,  animating  his  troops,  and  with  equal  dexterity  and  suc- 
cess, he  availed  himself  of  the  rising  of  the  sun :  the  soldiers  of  the  third 
legion,  who  had  served  under  Corbulo  in  Asia,  saluted  it  with  loud 
cries,  according  to  the  Syriac  custom;  whence  a  rumor  was  spread, 
and  obtained  credit  among  the  combatants,  probably  through  a  strata- 
gem of  Primus,  that  great  reinforcements  had  come  to  his  army.  The 
Vitellians  began  to  waver:  Primus,  perceiving  this,  pressed  them 
with  redoubled  vigor,  and  breaking  their  ranks  by  a  last  effort,  put 
them  completely  to  flight. 

They  were  pursued  with  great  slaughter,  till  they  reached  the  camp 
that  surrounded  Cremona.  In  order  to  deprive  them  of  this  last 
resource,  the  victorious  army  resolved  to  attack  the  camp  without 
delay.  This,  indeed,  offered  almost  insuperable  difficulties,  as  it  was 
defended  by  a  whole  army,  and  well  fortified  by  a  ditch,  a  parapet, 

*  Neutrb  inclinaverat  fortuna,  donee  adulta  nocte,  luna  surgens  ostenderet 
acies,  falleretque.  Sed  Flavianis  aequior  a.  tergo:  hinc  majores  equorum 
vironunque  umbrae,  et  falso,  ut  in  corpora,  ictu,  tela  hostium  citra  cadebantv 
Vitdliarii  adverse  luminc  collacento.s,  velut  ex  occulto  jaculantibus,  inoauU 
offerebantur.  —  Tacit.  Histor.  lib.  Ill,  n.  xxm. 


GALBA. — OTHO. VITELLIUS.  47 

and  powerful  engines  which  threw  with  violence  darts  and  stones, 
But  nothing  could  check  the  ardor  of  the  soldiers  of  Primus :  they  ad- 
vanced towards  the  intrench  men ts  with  their  shields  joined  and  raised 
over  their  heads  ;  here  again  a  fierce  combat  ensued.  The  assailants 
were  exposed  to  an  incessant  shower  of  arrows  and  enormous  stones 
from  the  Vitellian  engines;  although  wounded,  bruised  and  repulsed, 
they  renewed  the  attack,  mounted  upon  each  other's  shoulders,  wrested 
the  swords  from  the  hands  of  their  opponents,  leaped  upon  the  ram- 
parts, or  broke  open  the  gates,  and  rushing  into  the  camp,  filled  it  in 
one  moment  with  mangled  bodies  and  streams  of  blood. 

These  three  victories  were  the  work  of  twenty-four  hours,  and  the 
fruit  of  the  most  obstinate  courage  ever  displayed  by  Romans  fighting 
against  Romans.  The  third  legion  distinguished  itself  on  that  occa- 
sion in  a  particular  manner,  and  maintained  its  former  glory.  But 
no  glory  was  equal  to  that  acquired  by  Primus  in  these  actions :  he 
had,  as  it  were,  by  a  single  blow,  commenced  and  nearly  finished  the 
war,  nor  could  the  Vitellians  ever  regain  their  former  ascendency. 
The  city  of  Cremona,  struck  with  terror,  surrendered  to  the  victors, 
and  having  unfortunately  done  so  without  previous  conditions,  was 
abandoned  to  plunder  and  destroyed  by  fire.  All  the  West  began  to 
follow  the  example  of  the  East,  and  to  declare  for  Vespasian;  so  that 
Rome  and  a  few  Italian  provinces  were  all  that  now  remained  on  the 
side  of  Vitellius,  and  even  these  but  for  a  short  time. 

After  some  transactions  of  minor  importance,  Primus  with  his  vic- 
torious troops  arrived  before  the  walls  of  the  capital.  Here  also  they 
were  vigorously  opposed ;  a  series  of  battles  which  were  fought  at 
the  gates,  afterwards  in  the  streets,  and  finally  in  the  praetorian  camp, 
cost  the  lives  of  fifty  thousand  persons.  In  every  one  of  them,  the 
soldiers  of  Primus  conquered  their  opponents;  the  Vitellians  were 
driven  to  their  last  posts,  and,  though  they  still  resisted  with  deter- 
mined courage,  being  overpowered  by  numbers,  all  fell,  with  their 
faces  turned  towards  the  enemy. 

Vitellius,  unworthy  of  so  brave  soldiers,  shut  himself  up  in  a  lit- 
ter, and  was  carried  to  a  house  in  a  distant  part  of  the  town,  from, 
which  he  intended  secretly  to  make  his  escape  and  retire  into  Cam- 
pania. But  either  fear  and  restlessness  of  mind,  or  the  hope  of  kind 
treatment  from  the  conquerors,  induced  him  to  return  to  his  palace; 
he  found  it  changed  into  a  vast  solitude,  and  the  apartments  closed, 
all  his  officers  and  servants  having  fled.  Weary  of  wandering  about, 
he  concealed  himself  behind  a  bed  in  the  porter's  room,  but  was  soon 
discovered  by  a  party  of  the  victorious  soldiers.  Notwithstanding  his 
entreaties,  they  led  him  away  with  his  hands  tied  behind  him,  his 
clothes  torn,  and  a  cord  about  his  neck,  not  one  person  showing  him 
the  least  compassion.  Nay  more,  some  were  so  inhuman  as  to  prick 


48  MODERX  HISTORY. 


1'art  1 


his  chin  with  their  swords,  to  force  him  to  raise  his  head  and  see  hi? 
statues  overthrown.  He  was  dragged -in  this  manner  to  the  common 
dung-hill,  where  they  put  him  to  death,  and  then  threw  his  body  into 
the  Tiber.  He  had  reigned  eight  months,  reckoning  from  the  death  of 
Otho,  who  himself  had  reigned  only  three:  so  that  the  same  year  (A. 
D.  69)  saw  four  successive  emperors,  viz  :  Galba,  who  died  in  Janu- 
ary, Olho  in  April,  Vitellius  in  December,  and  Vespasian  who  was 
left  sole  master  before  the  end  of  this  same  month. 


VESPASIAN.— A.  D.  69—79. 

THE  year  following  (A.  D.  70)  was  rendered  famous  by  the  entire 
overthow  of  the  Jews,  and  by  the  destruction  of  their  nation,  city  and 
temple.* 

From  the  time  when  Judea,  like  so  many  other  countries  of  the 
East,  after  having  been  subdued  by  the  Romans,  was  formed  into  a 
province  of  the  empire,  the  Jcw<  always  bore  the  yoke  with  extreme 
reluctance.  Their  desire  to  shake  it  off,  was  continually  increased 
by  the  tyranny  and  extortions  of  the  Unman  governors.  Under  Flo- 
rus,  the  last  governor,  their  patience  was  completely  exhausted,  and 
public  animosity  being  raised  to  the  highest  pitch,  they  rose  in  arms 
in  the  year  66,  two  years  before  the  death  of  Nero. 

Their  first  endeavors  were  generally  successful.  They  defeated  the 
Romans,  killed  many  of  them,  and  repulsed  Cestius  Gallus,  the  go- 
vernor of  Syria,  who  had  come  to  the  assistance  of  Florus.  But 
affairs  on  each  side  assumed  a  very  different  aspect,  when  Vespasian 
received  from  Nero  th.e  charge  of  prosecuting  the  war  against  the 
Jews.  Under  this  able  general,  the  Romans  quickly  recovered  their 
usual  superiority.  Nearly  the  whole  of  Galilee  and  Judea  was  sub- 
dued in  two  campaigns,  and,  although  the  insurgents  fought  in  many 
places  with  desperate  valor,  Vespasian  drove  them  from  their  posi 
tions,  and  approached  Jerusalem.  He  then  prepared  to  lay  siege  to 
this  capital ;  but,  being  at  that  time  proclaimed  emperor,  he  departed 
for  Egypt,  aud  left  to  his  son  Titus  the  conduct  of  the  war. 

Jerusalem,  one  of  the  principal  cities  of  the  East,  was  a  place  of  very 
difficult  access.  Its  high  position  on  two  mountains,  a  double,  even 
treble  enclosure  of  strong  walls  and  towers  where  the  approach  was 
naturally  easier,  and  many  other  fortification?,  would  have  rendered  it 
unconquerable,  had  not  the  obstinacy  and  blindness  of  its  inhabitants 
forced,  as  it  were,  the  justice  of  God  to  achieve  their  ruin.  The 

*  See  note  B. 


D.  69— 7<J. 


VESPASIAN.  49 


Roman  legions  commanded  by  Titus  encamped  round  the  city  towards 
the  beginning  of  April,  and,  as  this  was  about  Easter,  one  of  the 
principal  solemnities  of  the  Jews,  an  immense  multitude  of  people  hap- 
pened thus  to  be  shut  up  as  in  a  prison.  Their  provisions  were  soon 
consumed,  and  famine  began  to  exercise  its  ravages.  Moreover,  there 
were  in  the  town  two  or  three  furious  factions,  which,  it  is  true, 
united  their  efforts  to  oppose  the  assaults  of  the  Romans,  but,  as  soon 
as  the  danger  was  over,  quarrelled  and  fought  among  themselves. 
They  did  not  perhaps  let  one  day  pass,  without  committing  new  cru- 
elties, and  staining  with  blood  the  streets  of  the  city  or  the  pavements 
of  the  temple. 

The  siege  lasted  until  September,  and  during  all  that  time,  Titus 
unceasingly  called  upon  the  wretched  inhabitants  to  surrender,  giving 
them  a  full  assurance  of  pardon.  All  was  useless ;  they  defended 
every  inch  of  ground  and  opposed  every  attack  with  such  obstinate 
fury,  that  the  besiegers  sometimes  despaired  of  success;  once,  espe- 
cially, when,  after  having  labored  for  seventeen  days  to  prepare  bat- 
tering rams  and  other  engines  of  war,  they  could  not  prevent  their 
being  burnt  and  destroyed  by  the  Jews  in  the  space  of  a  few  hours. 
Titus  himself,  though  he  had  already  obtained  possession  of  the  first 
and  second  walls,  was  at  a  loss  how  to  act  in  order  to  repair  this  loss. 
After  much  deliberation,  he  resolved  to  change,  in  some  particulars, 
his  former  plan  of  attack,  and  the  soldiers  as  well  as  officers  armed 
themselves  with  new  courage  for  the  execution  of  his  designs.  By 
his  orders,  they  built  all  around  the  city,  six  miles  in  circumference, 
a  wall  fortified  by  thirteen  towers,  to  prevent  the  escape  of  the  rebels 
and  the  introduction  of  provisions  into  the  town.  Through  the  won- 
derful activity  of  the  Romans,  the  work  was  finished  in  three  days. 

From  that  time  especially,  the  famine  raged  most  dreadfully  in 
Jerusalem.  The  greater  part  of  its  inhabitants  were  reduced  to  eat 
such  things  as  they  could  not  behold  without  horror ;  the  leather  of 
their  shoes  and  shields,  dried  hay,  withered  herbs,  were  food  which 
they  would  greedily  devour.  The  soldiers  of  each  faction  violently 
entered  the  houses,  and  visited  every  corner,  to  discover  provisions. 
If  they  found  any,  they  wrested  it  from  the  owners;  if  they  found 
none,  they  put  those  unfortunate  people  to  the  rack,  and  made  them 
suffer  cruel  torments,  in  order  to  force  them  to  disclose  what  might  be 
concealed.  Barbarity  was  carried  so  far  as  to  take  from  the  poorest 
among  the  people  some  herbs  and  grain  which  they  had  collected 
during  the  night  outside  of  the  walls,  at  the  risk  of  their  lives;  with- 
out leaving  them  a  small  part  which  they  asked  in  the  name  of  God 
Neither  women  nor  little  children  were  spared,  when  found  with  a 
little  food  in  their  hands. 

And  this  was  not  done  by  the  soldiers  only.     All  hearts  were 


50  MODERN    HISTORY.  Partl 

steeled  against  the  feelings  of  humanity  and  compassion.  Husbands 
would  snatch  meat  from  their  wives ;  children  would  wrest  it  from  their 
parents ;  and  what  almost  surpasses  belief,  mothers  would  deprive 
their  little  infants  of  the  necessaries  of  life.  Nay,  one  of  them  went 
so  far  as  to  deprive  of  life  itself  her  little  child,  in  order  to  eat  its  flesh, 
and  prolong  her  own  existence  by  that  horrid  sustenance.  The 
houses  seemed  to  be  changed  into  graves,  most  of  them  being  filled 
with  dead  and  dying.  The  streets  were  strewed  with  so  many 
corpses  which  blocked  up  the  way,  that  an  order  was  given  by  the 
chiefs  of  the  rebels,  to  gather  them  into  great  heaps  in  some  uninha- 
bited buildings,  or  to  throw  them  from  the  wall  into  the  valley. 
More  than  six  hundred  thousand  bodies  were  thus  thrown,  and,  at 
one  gate  only,  there  were  counted  one  hundred  and  sixteen  thousand 
in  the  space  of  three  months.  As  to  the  survivors,  they  resembled  so 
many  skeletons  or  walking  ghosts:  the  whole  city  presented  nothing 
but  desolation  and  the  image  of  death. 

When  the  Romans  heard  these  things,  some  would  not  believe 
them ;  others  were  moved  to  compassion ;  but  the  greater  number, 
inflamed  with  indignation,  became  still  more  animated  against  the 
Jewish  people  than  they  were  before.  Titus  heaved  a  deep  sigh, 
and  called  heaven  to  witness  that  he  was  not  the  author  of  such  hor- 
rid miseries,  since  he  had  frequently,  but  in  vain,  offered  a  full  par- 
don to  the  Jews  if  they  would  surrender.  He  therefore  determined 
to  carry  on  the  siege  with  fresh  vigor,  this  being  the  only  means  to 
subdue  those  furious  rebels.  New  and  repeated  assaults  took  place, 
in  which  extraordinary  efforts  were  made,  and  many  persons  killed 
on  each  side;  at  length,  the  Romans  carried  by  storm  the  third  wall 
with  the  lower  part  of  the  town,  and  entered  the  porticos  of  the  tem- 
ple and  its  exterior  galleries,  which  they  set  on  fire. 

It  was  the  wish  of  Titus  to  save  the  temple  itself;  but  one  of  the 
soldiers,  says  the  historian  Josephus,  hurried  on  by  a  certain  divine 
impulse,  took  a  fire-brand,  and  being  lifted  up  by  another  soldier, 
threw  it  into  one  of  the  inner  rooms  contiguous  to  the  sanctuary. 
The  flames  immediately  rose.  In  vain  did  the  Jews  endeavor  to  ex- 
tinguish them  ;  in  vain  did  Titus  also  make  the  most  strenuous  efforts 
to  stop  the  conflagration :  in  spite  of  both  the  conqueror  and  the  con- 
quered, the  fire  spread  with  unusual  rapidity.  At  the  same  time,  the 
legions,  fond  of  pillage,  and  enraged  by  the  long  resistance  they  had 
met  with,  slew  all  who  had  taken  refuge  in  the  temple  and  the  galle- 
ries. The  whole  space  was  soon  covered  with  dead  bodies,  over 
which  the  Romans  advanced  in  pursuit  of  the  Jews  who  fled  before 
them,  and  streams  of  blood  were  running  through  the  flames.  The 
conflagration  was  so  violent,  and  the  building  so  extensive,  that  the 
hill  upon  which  it  stood  seemed  all  on  fire;  whilst  the  outcries  of  an 


A.  D.  69— 79. 


VESPASIAN.  51 


immense  number  of  Jews,  prolonged  by  the  neighboring  echoes, 
were  heard  on  all  sides,  and  increased  the  horror  of  the  scene. 

The  fatal  day  was  come :  that  splendid  temple,  the  most  celebrated 
in  the  universe,  and  the  centre  of  the  true  religion  before  the  coming 
of  Christ,  was  in  a  few  hours  reduced  to  ashes  and  to  a  heap  of  ruins. 
It  perished  after  a  duration  of  six  hundred  years,  and,  by  a  striking 
occurrence,  was  consumed  by  fire  in  the  same  month  and  on  the 
same  day  (the  tenth  of  August),  on  which  the  former  temple  or  tem- 
ple of  Solomon  was  burnt  by  Nabuchodonosor,  king  of  Babylon. 

Although  the  rebels  still  made  some  resistance  in  the  upper  part  of 
the  town,  Titus  found  no  difficulty  in  expelling  them  from  all  the 
positions  which  they  occupied.  The  Romans  completed  the  reduc- 
tion of  Jerusalem  on  the  eighth  of  September,  and  put  every  thing  to 
fire  and  sword.  What  the  flames  had  spared,  was  entirely  demolished, 
and  levelled  with  the  ground :  not  a  stone  was  left  upon  a  stone,  in 
the  whole  city ;  only  some  parts  of  the  western  wall  and  three  re- 
markable towers  were  preserved,  both  for  the  sake  of  the  Roman  gar- 
rison which  was  to  be  left  in  Judea,  and  as  monuments  o£  so  signal 
a  victory.  The  booty,  notwithstanding  the  ravages  of  the  fire,  was 
so  great,  that  gold  lost  half  its  value  in  the  neighboring  provinces. 
Eleven  hundred  thousand  Jews  perished  during  the  siege;  ninety- 
seven  thousand  were  made  prisoners,  and  condemned,  some  to  hard 
labor,  others  to  death;  whilst  many  were  sold  at  a  low  price,  and 
dispersed  all  over  the  earth. 

Thus  were  the  predictions  of  our  Lord  concerning  the  utter  destruc- 
tion of  Jerusalem,  entirely  fulfilled.*  It  was  a  manifest  punishment 
of  the  crime  of  deicide,  which  the  Jews  had  committed  thirty-seven 
years  before;  and  of  the  awful  imprecation  which  they  had  uttered 
with  on«  voice,  during  our  Saviour's  passion :  "  His  blood  be  upon  us, 
and  upon  our  children."-!-  Titus  himself,  though  a  heathen,  viewing 
all  the  circumstances  of  their  disaster,  the  most  extraordinary  that 
ever  befell  a  nation,  confessed  that  he  was  only  the  instrument  of 
divine  vengeance. J 

This  the  Jews  also  would  have  acknowledged,  had  they  not  har- 
dened their  hearts,  and  shut  their  eyes  against  the  light.  During 
many  years  before  the  war,  they  were  admonished  of  their  impending 
calamity  by  prodigies  more  and  more  terrific.  All  their  doctors  con- 
fess that  strange  phenomena  were  daily  seen  in  the  temple;  in  so 
much,  that  a  famous  Rabbin  cried  out  one  day  :  "  O  temple!  temple! 
What  is  it  that  moves  thee,  and  why  art  thou  thus  terrified?" 

In  the  year  immediately  preceding  the  beginning  of  hostilities  be- 

•  Matt,  xxiv.— Mark,  xiii.— Luke,  xix,  xxi.  f  Matt,  xxvii.  25. 

t  Josephus,  De  hello  Jud.  lib.  Vl.-Philost.  vit.  Jlpoll.  Tyan.  lib.  VI. 


52  MODERN  HISTORY.  PartL 

tween  the  Jews  and  Romans,  on  Easter-Day,  a  gate  of  the  inner  court 
of  the  temple,  all  of  brass,  and  so  heavy  that  twenty  men  could  scarcely 
move  it,  was  opened  of  its  own  accord.  Some  weeks  later,  chariots 
and  troops  of  soldiers  in  their  armor,  were  beheld  running  among 
the  clouds,  and  surrounding  the  cities. 

What  is  more  striking  than  the  noise  heard  in  the  sanctuary  on  the 
day  of  Pentecost,  and  that  audible  voice  which  issued  from  the  inmost 
recess  of  that  sacred  place:  "Let  us  go  hence,  let  us  go  hence?7* 
The  holy  Angels,  guardians  of  the  temple,  loudly  declared  that  they 
were  forsaking  it,  because  Almighty  God,  who  had  there  established 
his  abode  during  so  many  ages,  had  now  given  it  up  to  reprobation. 

Josephus*  and  Tacitusf  have  both  related  these  prodigies,  which 
therefore  cannot  be  reasonably  doubted.  The  following  one,  although 
mentioned  by  Josephus  only,  must  however  appear  the  least  ques- 
tionable of  all,  as  having  been  visible  to  the  whole  people.  Four 
years  before  the  war  commenced,  a  certain  man  going  up  from  the 
country  to  Jerusalem  for  the  feast  of  the  Tabernacles,^:  suddenly  began 
to  cry  gilt :  "  a  voice  from  the  east,  a  roice  from  the  west,  a  voice 
from  the  four  winds ;  a  voice  against  the  temple  and  against  Jerusa- 
lem; a  voice  against  all  the  people!"  From  that  time  he  ceased  not 
crying  day  ana  night :  "  wo,  wo  to  Jerusalem!"  He  redoubled  his 
cries  on  the  festival-days.  No  other  words  fell  from  his  lips ;  those 
who  pitied  him,  those  who  rebuked  him,  those  who  gave  him  the 
necessaries  of  life,  could  never  obtain  from  him  any  thing  but  this 
terrible  sentence:  "wo  to  Jerusalem!"  He  was  arrested,  tried  by 
the  magistrates,  and  condemned  to  be  scourged :  at  every  question,  and 
at  every  lash,  he  constantly  answered,  without  ever  complaining  of 
his  sufferings ;  "  wo  to  Jerusalem!"  Being  Dismissed  as  a  madman, 
he  ran  up  and  down  the  whole  country,  incessantly  repeating  the 
same  awful  prediction,  "wo  to  Jerusalem!"  For  seven  years  he 
continued  to  cry  out  in  this  manner  without  relaxation,  the  strength 
of  his  voice  remaining  ever  the  same.  During  the  siege  of  Jerusalem, 
he  shut  himself  up  in  the  city,  going  incessantly  round  the  walls,  and 
crying  with  all  his  might:  "  wo  to  the  temple!  wo  to  the  city  !  wo 
to  all  the  people !"  at  last  he  added, "  wo  to  myself!"  and  was  imme- 
diately carried  off  by  a  stone  shot  from  an  engine ;  thus  having  been, 
at  the  same  time,  a  prophet,  a  witness,  and  a  visible  proof  of  the 
divine  vengeance  lying  heavy  upon  his  whole  nation. 

Shortly  after  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  Titus  repaired  by  land  to 
Alexandria,  and  thence  by  sea  to  Rome.  The  emperor,  his  father, 

*  Josephus,  De  bello  Judaico,  lib.  VI.     f  Tacitus,  histor.  lib.  V.  n.  xm. 

\  Thus  called,  from  the  custom  of  the  Jews  to  make  on  that  feast  taber- 
nacles or  tents,  as  a  memorial  of  their  having  dwelt  under  tents  for  forty 
years  in  the  desert. 


VESPASIAN.  53 

went  forward  from  the  city  to  meet  him;  and  they  enjoyed  together 
the  honors  of  a  magnificent  triumph,  for  the  successful  conclusion  of 
the  Jewish  war. 

The  reign  of  Vespasian  henceforward  passed  in  peace.  This  wise 
prince  restored  the  empire  to  its  ancient  splendor.  He  respected  the 
laws,  and  caused  them  to  be  respected  by  others ;  enforced  the  rules 
of  military  discipline ;  prevented  or  punished  oppression ;  encouraged 
virtue  and  talents.  The  luxury  of  the  Roman  tables  was  an  invete- 
rate evil,  and  stronger  than  all  laws :  Vespasian  checked  it  by  his 
example,  private  individuals  being  ashamed  to  indulge  in  extrava- 
gant expenses,  whilst  their  emperor  declared  himself  a  lover  of  plain- 
ness and  simplicity.  Whatever  savored  of  effeminacy,  so  highly 
displeased  him,  that  being  one  day  accosted  by  a  young  man  strongly 
perfumed,  who  came  to  thank  him  for  a  preferment  which  he  had 
lately  obtained;  •'!  had  rather  you  smelt  of  garlic,"  said  Vespasian, 
with  a  stern  and  contemptuous  look ;  and  immediately  revoked  his 
commission. 

He  was  also  very  careful  to  procure  a  right  and  speedy  adminis- 
tration of  justice.  The  pleadings  frequently  took  place  before  him; 
his  tribunal  was  public,  and  his  judgements  obtained  almost  general 
approbation.  Being  not  less  beneficent  than  just,  the  disasters  which 
Rome  and  other  cities  experienced,  were  the  objects  of  his  solicitude. 
Amiable  and  cheerful  with  his  friends,  merciful  to  his  enemies,  good, 
humane  and  affable  to  all,  he  gave  free  access  to  his  palace,  the 
gates  of  which  were  constantly  open;  and  he  was  seen  to  shed  tears 
over  criminals  whom  he  could  not  save  from  punishment. 

On  one  occasion  only,  his  usual  clemency  disappeared.  A  certain 
Sabinus  had  assumed  in  Gaul  the  title  of  Caesar;  being  defeated 
towards  the  beginning  of  Vespasian's  reign,  and  having  remained 
for  several  years  concealed  in  a  cavern,  he  was  at  length  discovered 
and  brought  to  Rome.  Eponina,  his  wife,  who  had  never  abandoned 
him,  threw  herself  at  the  emperor's  feet,  and  by  her  supplications 
and  tears,  endeavored  to  excite  his  compassion.  Vespasian  was  in- 
deed moved  with  pity,  and  even  sensibly  affected;  but  his  emotion 
yielded  to  the  severity  of  his  political  principles,  and  both  Eponina 
and  Sabinus  were  condemned  to  death.  No  one  knew  the  motives 
of  a  rigor  so  unnecessary,  at  least  in  appearance,  and  which  leaves 
a  blot  on  the  memory  of  so  good  an  emperor. 

He  is  also  accused  of  too  great  a  love  of  money.  The  charge 
may  be  true  in  some  respects;  but  we  ought  not  to  forget  that  Vespa- 
sian ever  made  a  noble  and  generous  use  of  his  revenues.  Besides 
other  instances  of  his  liberality,  some  of  which  have  been  already 
mentioned,  he  was  the  first  who  gave  pensions  to  the  professors  of 
Greek  nnd  Latin  eloquence  at  Rome.  He  attracted  to  that  city  the 


54  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Part  I. 


best  scholars,  and  the  ablest  workmen  of  the  time,  without  however 
disregarding  those  of  inferior  merit  and  hurting  their  interests.  One 
of  the  former,  an  excellent  machinist,  having  offered  to  transport 
heavy  burdens  at  a  small  expense  by  machines  of  his  invention,  the 
emperor  rewarded  him  well  for  the  offer,  but  would  not  make  use  of 
it;  "  for,"  said  he,  tf  we  must  not  deprive  the  poor  of  their  means 
of  subsistence." 

It  was  by  such  amiable  qualities,  and  by  repeated  acts  of  a  good 
government,  that  Vespasian  deserved  the  title  of  father  of  his  coun- 
try, which  was  conferred  on  him  nearly  in  the  same  manner  as  it 
had  been  on  Augustus.  Though  advanced  in  age,  he  continued  to 
administer  the  public  affairs  to  the  end  of  his  life,  and  gave  audience 
even  in  his  last  sickness.  He  was  however  sensible  of  the  danger  of 
his  situation,  and  said  one  day:  "It  seems  to  me  I  am  going  to  be- 
come a  god;  thus  deriding,  in  an  ingenious  manner,  the  apotheosis 
which  would  follow  his  death.  When  he  felt  that  he  had  but  few 
moments  to  live,  he  was  heard  to  say:  "It  is  proper  that  an  emperor 
should  die  standing;"  and,  making  an  effort  to  rise,  he  expired  in 
the  arms  of  those  who  supported  him,  in  the  seventieth  year  of  his 
life  and  tenth  of  his  reign  (A.  D.  79). 

Under  him  was  made  the  last  census  of  the  Roman  citizens.  In 
Italy  alone,  there  were  found,  according  to  Pliny,  fifty-four  per- 
sons at  least  a  hundred  years  old.  Ten  had  reached  the  age  of  one 
hundred  and  twenty-five  or  thirty  years,  three  the  age  of  one  hun- 
dred and  forty,  and  two  that  of  one  hundred  and  fifty. 


TITUS.— A.  D.  79—81. 


VESPASIAN  was  succeeded  by  his  elder  son  Titus,  a  most  excellent 
prince,  whose  eulogium  is  comprised  in  the  appellation  of  the  De- 
light of  Mankind,  under  which  he  is  known.  From  the  time  of  his 
accession  to  the  throne,  nothing  appeared  in  him  but  a  wonderful 
generosity  and  benevolence,  from  which  his  very  bitterest  enemies 
were  not  excluded.  Two  patricians  being  convicted  of  a  conspiracy 
against  him,  he  granted  them  a  fuil  pardon,  and  had  the  kind  attention 
to  send  a  messenger  to  the  mother  of  one  of  them,  to  assure  her  that 
her  son  had  nothing  to  fear  from  his  resentment.  Moreover,  he  in- 
vited the  two  guilty  persons  to  sup  with  him,  and  on  the  following 
day,  at  an  exhibition  of  gladiators,  made  them  sit  by  his  side, 
and  hold  for  some  time  the  arms  of  the  combatants,  which  were 
brought  to  him  according  to  custom. 


A.  D.  79-  81. 


TITUS.  55 


Titus  never  sent  away  any  person  discontented,  never,  at  least, 
without  some  hope  and  consolation ;  saying  that  no  one  should  go 
sorrowful  from  his  prince.  Every  one  knows  in  what  manner  he 
once  expressed  his  regret  at  having  let  a  day  pass  without  doing 
some  good  office;  "My  friends,"  said  he,  "I  have  lost  a  day;"  an 
expression  worthy  of  being  transmitted  to  the  latest  posterity,  and 
infinitely  more  glorious  than  all  the  victories  of  Alexander  and  Ju- 
iius  Caesar. 

The  manifold  disasters  and  calamitous  events  which  happened  du- 
ring the  reign  of  Titus,  afforded  him  continual  opportunities  to  dis- 
play his  beneficence.  The  most  dreadful  of  those  visitations  was  an 
eruption  of  Mount  Vesuvius  in  Italy.  Even  the  mere  forerunners  of 
it  were  terrific:  a  violent  earthquake,  subterraneous  sounds  like 
thunder,  the  soil  burning,  the  sea  foaming,  the  heavens  in  a  blaze; 
all  was  calculated  to  fill  every  bosom  with  dread  and  consternation. 
Then,  for  three  days,  the  volcano  belched  forth  with  terrific  violence, 
so  great  a  quantity  of  hot  ashes,  large  stones,  and  lurid  flame,  that 
the  day  was  obscured,  the  sun  was  darkened,  and  the  world  seemed 
to  be  returning  to  its  pristine  chaos. 

Pliny  the  naturalist,  or  the  elder,  one  of  the  most  learned  and  la- 
borious writers  of  antiquity,  was  at  that  time  the  commander  of  the 
Roman  fleet  at  Misenum,  a  promontory  at  the  distance  of  twenty  or 
twenty-five  miles  from  Mount  Vesuvius.  He  saw  the  beginning  of 
the  eruption,  without  knowing  exactly  what  it  was.  Desirous  to  have 
a  nearer  view  of  the  phenomenon,  he  advanced  on  board  a  galley 
towards  the  volcano.  Having  landed,  he  found  every  thing  in 
strange  confusion,  a  new  promontory  formed  by  the  violence  of  the 
earthquake,  and  numbers  of  people  flying  on  all  sides,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  avoiding  the  continual  eruption  of  stones,  ashes  and  smoke 
from  the  volcano.  He  himself,  notwithstanding  his  intrepidity, 
wished  after  a  short  stay,  to  return  to  his  ship.  It  was  too  late:  be- 
fore he  could  reembark,  there  burst  forth  a  sulphurous  vapor  accom- 
panied with  flames;  all  ran  from  the  imminent  danger;  but  Pliny, 
having  a  weak  breast,  could  not  resist  the  suffoca'ting  exhalation,  and 
fell  dead  on  the  spot.  His  body  was  found  two  days  after,  without 
any  external  injury. 

In  the  meanwhile,  Pliny  the  younger,  afterwards  so  famous  for  his 
eloquence,  was  with  his  mother  at  Misenum,  in  their  dwelling  near 
the  sea.  Though  it  was  far  from  the  volcano,  they  saw  themselves 
exposed,  with  the  other  inhabitants  of  the  town,  to  great  perils  from 
the  violence  of  the  earthquake,  and  the  clouds  of  smoke  and  ashes, 
which  were  carried  to  a  great  distance  in  different  directions.  Pliny's 
mother  exhorted  him  to  save  his  life  by  flight,  saying  that  her  ad- 
vanced age  and  infirmities  did  not  permit  her  to  make  her  escape, 


66  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Part  L 


But  Pliny  would  never  consent  to  the  separation;  she  was  prevailed 
upon,  to  follow  him,  and  they  went  together,  accompanied  by  a  great 
crowd  of  people.  The  day  was  changed  into  the  darkest  night; 
nothing  guided  their  trembling  steps,  except  the  dismal  flames  which 
from  time  to  time  flickered  on  the  top  of  the  mountain.  They  were 
frequently  covered  with  ashes;  even  the  flame  seemed  to  advance 
towards  them;  it  did  not  however  reach  them,  and  they  had  the  good 
fortune  to  escape. 

When  the  eruption  was  over,  the  surrounding  country  presented 
a  scene  of  desolation.  The  cities  of  Pompeii  and  Herculaneum 
were  buried  under  heaps  of  ashes,  and  remained  so  for  more  than, 
sixteen  hundred  years,  until  the  last  century,  when  the  people  of 
that  country.,  whilst  engaged  in  digging  wells  and  quarries,  dis- 
covered them  at  the  depth  of  many  feet  beneath  the  surface.  Tem- 
ples and  other  buildings  have  been  found  there,  with  statues,  inscrip- 
tions, vessels,  even  fruits,  olives,  wheat  and  bread,  preserved  in  the 
cement  and  lava  which  covered  them  at  the  time  of  the  eruption. 
The  inhabitants  had  very  probably  withdrawn  to  a  distance;  hence 
the  loss  of  these  two  cities  could  not  be  deemed  in  itself  a  very 
great  disaster:  but  the  volcanic  substances  with  which  the  whole 
country  was  now  overspread,  occasioned  so  dreadful  a  pestilence 
throughout  Italy,  that  in  Rome  it  carried  off  ten  thousand  persons 
every  day  for  a  considerable  space  of  time.  In  fine,  a  terrible  con- 
flagration added  its  ravages  to  those  caused  by  the  pestilence,  and 
consumed  some  of  the  finest  quarters  of  that  city. 

Amidst  so  many  disasters,  Titus  not  only  acted  the  part  of  a  good 
prince,  but  also  evinced  the  affection  of  a  tender  father  for  his  dis- 
tressed children.  In  order  to  repair,  as  far  as  possible,  both  public 
and  private  losses,  he  spared  neither  the  treasure  of  the  empire,  nor 
his  own  money.  He  parted  even  with  his  jewels  and  the  ornaments 
of  his  palace,  to  afford  the  sufferers  every  alleviation  in  his  power. 
Unfortunately  he  reigned  only  two  years,  and  died  at  the  age  of 
forty-one  (A.  D.  81).  Many  believed  that  his  death  had  been  pro- 
cured, or  at  least  accelerated  by  his  wicked  brother  Domitian.  It 
was  so  generally  and  so  deeply  lamented,  not  only  in  Rome,  but 
also  in  the  provinces,  that  each  family  seemed  to  have  lost  a  son  or 
a  father. 


DOMITIAN.— A.  D.  81—96. 

It  is  scarcely  possible  to  find  a  more  striking  contrast  in  the  cha- 
racter and  dispositions  of  two  successive  princes,  than  is  presented  by 
Titus  and  Domitian.  The  new  emperor,  far  from  imitating  the  vir- 


81-98. 


DOMITIAN.  57 


lues  of  his  deceased  brother,  abandoned  himself  to  the  most  degra- 
ding excesses.  Me  was  careful,  however,  to  conceal  his  wickedness, 
until  he  had,  like  other  tyrants,  confirmed  his  authority  among  the 
people,  by  several  acts  of  justice  and  a  prudent  management  of  pub- 
lic affairs. 

The  first  and  most  distinguished  personage  that  had  to  suffer  from 
his  susp^ious  policy,  was  Julius  Agricola,  the  Roman  governor  of 
Great  Britain.  This  illustrious  man  had  completed  the  subjugation 
of  that  country,*  more  by  mildness  and  prudence,  than  by  the  terror  of 
his  amis.  He  continued  to  govern  it  with  great  honor,  when  Domi- 
tian,  jealous  of  his  glory,  recalled  him  to  Rome,  and  repaid  his  emi- 
nent services  with  coldness  and  ingratitude.  Agricola,  for  fear  of 
giving  umbrage  to  the  tyrant,  withdrew  from  public  life.  He  died 
some  years  after,  excluded  from  dignities  and  public  employments, 
but  preserving  pure  and  entire  the  fame  of  his  talents  and  virtue. 
His  life  was  written  by  his  son-in-law,  Tacitus,  in  a  manner  which 
does  honor  to  both  the  conqueror  and  the  historian. 

Most  of  the  other  wars  during  Domitian's  reign,  those  especially 
which  he  conducted  in  person,  proved  unsuccessful :  he  was  defeated 
by  the  Germans ;  concluded  a  disgraceful  peace  with  the  Dacians ; 
and  yet  had  the  impudence  to  boast  in  Rome  of  his  pretended  ex- 
ploits, for  which  he  caused  a  triumph  to  be  decreed.  His  only  vic- 
tories were  over  helpless  insects;  he  frequently  shut  himself  in  his 
chamber,  and  spent  his  time  in  killing  flies  with  a  sharp  bodkin. 
Hence  a  certain  Vibius  Crispus  being  asked  if  any  one  was  with  the 
emperor,  aptly  replied:  "Not  so  much  as  a  fly." 

Under  this  capricious  tyrant,  capital  punishments  were  renewed, 
for  a  variety  of  pretexts,  against  the  first  personages  of  the  state. 
Nor  were  pretexts  ever  wanted.  To  be  rich,  or  of  noble  extraction, 
was  a  crime.  An  equal  danger  awaited  those  who  enjoyed  honors, 
and  those  who  enjoyed  them  not;  above  all,  conspicuous  virtue  and 
merit,  almost  infallibly  proved  the  ruin  of  their  possessors :  this  was 
the  case  particularly  with  Christians.  Domitian  excited  against  them 
the  second  general  persecution,  in  which  he  spared  neither  his  own 
relations,  nor  the  advanced  age  of  St.  John  the  Evangelist.  This 
venerable  apostle  was  brought  from  Ephesus  to  Rome,  and  plunged 
into  a  caldron  of  boiling  oil,  from  which  he  came  forth  unhurt,  and 
even  stronger  than  before.f  The  emperor  then  banished  him  to  the 
small  island  of  Patmos  in  the  Archipelago,  where  the  holy  apostle 
wrote  his  Apocalypse,  or  Book  of  Revelations.  After  the  death  of 
Domitian,  he  returned  to  Ephesus,  wrote  his  Gospel  at  the  request 

*  Not  including  Scotland,  which  never  was  entirely  subdued ;  much  less 
[reland,  which  was  not  even  attacked  by  the  Romans. 
|  Tertullian,  J)e  prescript,  c.  36. — St.  Jerrin,  lib.  advers  Joviniamm 


58  MODERN    HISTORY.  Part  L 

of  the  bishops  of  Asia,  and  died  towards  the  end  of  the  first  century, 
being  nearly  a  hundred  years  old. 

Not  less  impious  than  wicked,  Domitian  wished,  after  the  example 
of  Caligula,  to  be  considered  and  honored  as  a  god;  to  have  temples 
erected  in  his  honor,  and  victims  to  be  sacrificed  to  his  statue.  Next 
to  this  arrogant  and  sacrilegious  pride,  refined  cruelty  seemed  to  be  his 
predominant  characteristic;  he  tooK  pleasure  in  making  people  suffer, 
and  in  feasting  his  eyes  with  the  sight  of  their  torments.  Not  satis- 
fied with  putting  to  death  a  multitude  of  senators,  he  resolved  to 
frighten  the  others,  and  for  this  purpose,  contrived  a  scheme  worthy 
of  a  tyrant.  He  invited  them  to  supper,  and  as  they  arrived  had 
them  conducted  from  the  gate  of  the  palace  to  an  apartment  hung 
with  black,  where  every  thing  presented  the  image  of  death.  By 
the  glimmering  of  melancholy  lamps,  they  perceived  as  mai.y  cof- 
fins as  there  were  guests,  with  the  name  of  each  inscribed  in  large 
characters.  A  number  of  boys,  whose  skins  were  darkened,  danced 
around  the  room;  in  the  meanwhile,  a  mournful  silence  interrupted 
only  by  Domitian  reigned  in  the  assembly,  and  every  one  believed 
that  his  last  hour  was  come.  When  their  terror  was  at  its  height, 
the  emperor  dismissed  them  all  with  presents. 

Domitian,  by  such  scenes,  was  perhaps  desirous  to  make  others 
feel  the  excruciating  anguish  of  mind  which  he  himself  experienced. 
Every  thing  gave  him  offence ;  and  he  was  continually  tormented 
with  the  fear  of  being  surrounded  by  assassins.  He  had  the  gallery 
in  which  he  usually  walked,  overlaid  with  stones  which  reflected  ob- 
jects like  a  mirror,  that  he  might  see  those  who  should  attempt  to 
attack  him  from  behind.  He  entertained  unceasing  apprehensions, 
especially,  it  is  said,  of  a  certain  day  (the  eighteenth  of  September), 
and  of  a  certain  hour  of  that  day  (eleven  o'clock  in  the  morning). 
But  neither  his  apprehensions,  nor  the  precautions  which  he  took  to 
screen  himself  from  danger,  were  able  to  prolong  his  life:  that  very 
day  and  hour,  he  was  murdered  in  his  apartment  by  some  offi- 
cers of  the  palace,  who  either  knew  that  their  own  death  had  been 
decreed  by  him,  or  otherwise  dreaded  he  effects  of  his  resentment. 
Some  historians  relate  that  he  had  been  forewarned  of  the  impending- 
evil;  and  also  that  the  famous  magician^  Apollonius  Tyanensis, 
who  was  then  at  Ephesus,  knew  the  emperor's  death  at  the  moment 
it  happened,  and  announced  it  in  these  words:  " Strike,  strike  the  ty- 
rant." But  this  account  seems  rather  uncertain. 

Many  have  drawn  a  parallel  between  Domitian  and  Nero ;  but  a 
more  exact  comparison  might  be  made  between  the  former  and  Tibe- 
rius, whose  sulliness  of  temper,  malice,  cruelty  and  dissimulation,  he 
possessed  in  a  high  degree,  as  Tillemont  justly  observes.*  He  died 

*  Histoire  des  Empereurs.  vol.  II.  p.  64. 


A.  D.  96—117. 


NERVA TRAJAN.  59 


in  the  sixteenth  year  of  his  reign,  and  the  forty-fifth  of  his  life  (A.  D. 
96),  and  was  the  last  of  those  emperors  who  have  been  called  the 
Twelve  Caesars. 


NERVA— TRAJAN.— A.  D.  96—117. 


NERVA,  a  venerable  old  man,  was  unanimously  proclaimed  em- 
peror by  the  army,  the  senate  and  the  people.  During  his  reign  of 
only  sixteen  months,  though  not  always  successful,  he  did  much  good 
by  his  personal  exertions,  and  still  more  efficaciously  promoted  the 
interest  of  the  empire,  by  the  selection  of  Trajan  for  his  colleague  and 
successor.  He  died  shortly  after  (A.  D.  98). 

Trajan  was  a  native  of  Italica  or  Seville  in  Spain,  and  belonged  to 
a  family  more  ancient  than  illustrious.  Possessed  of  an  excellent  con- 
stitution, an  engaging  and  noble  countenance,  and  great  experience 
added  to  his  natural  abilities,  he  was  moreover  in  that  maturity  of  age 
which  is  so  desirable  for  the  goverment  of  a  vast  empire.  He  received 
the  news  of  his  election,  whilst  commanding  the  Roman  troops  in 
Germany :  this  produced  no  change  in  his  character  and  conduct 
He  sincerely  believed  and  publicly  declared  himself  to  be  not  less 
bound  than  the  lowest  citizen  to  observe  the  laws.  Other  emperors 
had  held  the  same  language;  but  what  Trajan  promised  to  be,  that  he 
in  reality  was.  He  seemed  to  retain  his  rank  for  the  sole  purpose  of 
preventing  anarchy,  and,  whenever  his  prerogatives  clashed  with  the 
true  interest  of  the  people,  he  diminished  them  without  hesitation. 
Hence  the  surname  of  Optimus  was  given  him  by  unanimous  consent. 

He  carefully  attended  both  to  the  embellishment  of  the  capital 
and  to  the  utility  of  the  provinces.  In  Rome,  the  famous  Trajan 
Square  and  Column ;  in  Pannonia,  a  bridge,  more  than  three  thou- 
sand feet  long,  thrown  over  the  Danube ;  a  road  uniting,  as  it  were, 
the  two  extremities  of  the  empire,  and  extending  from  Gaul  as  far  as 
the  Euxine  sea;  and  many  other  public  works  and  buildings,  were 
striking  instances  of  the  grandeur  of  his  views. 

Fully  convinced  that  haughtiness  conciliates  neither  affection  nor 
esteem,  and  that  condescension  can  be  well  allied  to  dignity,  he  lived 
with  his  people,  not  as  a  monarch  with  his  subjects,  but  like  a  father 
in  the  midst  of  beloved  children.  His  palace  was  open  to  persons  of 
all  conditions ;  he  listened  with  patience,  corrected  with  gentleness, 
and,  like  Titus,  wished  no  one  to  go  discontented  from  his  presence. 
As  his  friends  one  day  represented  to  him  that  he  carried  indulgence 
and  kindness  too  far;  "  I  must,"  answered  he,  "behave  towards  every 


60  MODERN    HISTORY.  Part  L 

one,  as  I  desired  that  an  emperor  should  behave  towards  me,  when  I 
was  a  private  citizen." 

With  regard  to  military  talents,  Trajan  was,  beyond  comparison, 
the  greatest  commander  of  his  age,  and  equal  to  the  most  illustrious 
generals  of  antiquity.  Vigilant  and  indefatigable,  he  marched  on 
foot,  even  when  emperor,  at  the  head  of  his  troops,  and  in  this  man- 
ner passed  over  vast  tracts  of  country,  without  using  horse  or  chariot. 
Equally  attentive  to  reward  noble  actions  and  maintain  strict  dis- 
cipline, he  constantly  encouraged  both  by  his  own  example. 

So  great  a  prince  easily  revived  the  warlike  spirit  of  the  Roman 
legions.  He  led  them  first  against  the  Dacians,  and  triumphed  twice 
over  their  king  Decebalus,  who  had  imposed  a  sort  of  tribute  on  Do- 
mitian.  Passing  afterwards  into  Asia,  he  subdued  Assyria,  Mesopo- 
tamia, and  other  countries  the  names  of  which  were  before  unknown 
at  Rome.  These  conquests  however  proved  more  brilliant  than  solid : 
the  new  subjects  of  the  empire  availed  themselves  of  the  first  oppor- 
tunity to  shake  off  the  yoke.  Trajan  himself  beheld  the  first  success 
of  their  efforts,  and  was  unable  to  check  it,  either  for  want  of  time,  or 
on  account  of  other  obstacles.  He  died  at  Selinontes  in  Cilicia,  whilst 
on  his  journey  to  Rome,  after  having  reigned  nearly  twenty  years 
'A.  D.  117). 

No  Roman  emperor  left  a  greater  reputation  for  princely  ability  and 
goodness.  For  a  long  time  after  his  death,  the  best  wish  that  the  Ro- 
mans believed  they  could  offer  to  any  new  emperor,  was  that  he 
should  be  happier  even  than  Cassar  Augustus,  and  better  than  Tra- 
jan. His  goodness  however  did  not  extend  to  the  Christians,  who 
were  again  persecuted  under  his  reign.  Moreover,  his  private  life 
was  far  from  being  blameless  :  on  the  contrary,  his  intemperance  and 
infamous  debaucheries,  together  with  many  other  instances  of  the 
same  kind,  show  well  what  we  must  think  in  general  of  the  greatest 
men  that  paganism  produced,  even  those  who  have  been  most 
admired  for  their  virtues. 

Besides  Quintillian  and  Juvenal,  who  flourished  about  this  time, 
the  most  celebrated  writers  that  lived  under  Trajan,  were,  Tacitus  the 
historian  and  Pliny  the  Younger.  Both  of  them  were  raised  to  emi- 
nent dignities,  and  yet  acquired  less  glory  from  their  high  station  than 
from  their  integrity  and  eloquence.  They  frequently  pleaded  at  the 
bar,  and  were  always  admired;  Tacitus,  for  the  gravity  and  nobleness 
of  his  diction;  Pliny,  for  his  elegance  and  facility,  which  were  so 
great  that  he  could  speak  five  or  six  hours  in  succession,  without 
fatiguing  any  one  but  himself.  He  has  left  ten  books  of  Letters,  and 
a  Panegyric  of  Trajan.  The  writings  of  Tacitus  consists  chiefly  of 
Histories  and  Annals  relating  to  the  first  emperors  of  Rome;  several 
books  of  his  works  are  lost,  to  the  great  detriment  of  Latin  literature. 


D.  117-138. 


ADRIAN.  61 


Tacitus  and  Pliny,  instead  of  entertaining  any  feeling  of  jealousy 
against  each  other,  were,  on  the  contrary,  sincere  and  intimate  friends. 
Public  opinion  made  no  distinction  between  them,  and  in  social  inter- 
course, the  name  of  the  one  could  scarcely  be  mentioned  without  the 
name  of  the  other.  It  once  happened  that  Tacitus,  being  at  a  public 
game,  had  a  long  conversation  on  literary  matters  with  a  foreigner 
sitting  by  his  side,  and  who  did  not  know  him  personally.  At  last, 
the  foreigner  asked  him  who  he  was.  "You  know  me,"  said  Taci- 
tus, "from  my  writings."  "Then  you  are  Tacitus  or  Pliny,"  said 
the  stranger  ;  showing  by  that  sudden  reply,  that  the  mere  mention  of 
literature  was  associated,  at  that  epoch,  with  the  names  of  these 
two  illustrious  writers  and  friends. 

In  their  time,  a  young  boy,  called  Valerius  Pudens,  obtained,  at  the 
age  of  thirteen,  the  premium  of  poetry  at  the  Capitolian  games 
(A.  D.  106). 


ADRIAN.— A.  D.  117—138. 


LIKE  Trajan,  Adrian,  his  nephew  and  successor,  united  with  a 
wretched  life  in  private,  great  abilities  for  government ;  but  his  con- 
duct was  far  different  from  that  of  his  predecessor.  Being  as  great  a 
lover  of  peace  as  Trajan  had  been  of  military  glory,  he  reduced  the 
Iloman  dominions  to  their  former  limits,  and  abandoned  all  the  con- 
quests lately  made  in  countries  situated  beyond  the  river  Euphrates. 
His  utmost  cate,  during  the  whole  of  his  reign,  was  to  preserve 
peace  with  the  neighboring  nations. 

To  obtain  this  desired  end,  he  employed  two  principal  means.  The 
first,  rather  an  impolitic  one,  was  to  induce,  by  considerable  presents, 
the  tribes  of  Pannonia  and  Germany  not  to  attack  the  empire.  The 
second,  much  more  worthy  of  a  great  prince,  was  to  keep  the  troops 
always  in  good  order,  and  ever  ready  to  oppose  and  defeat  every 
attempt  of  invasion.  For  that  purpose,  he  took  upon  himself  the  task 
of  visiting  all  the  camps  of  the  legions  scattered  throughout  the  em- 
pire, in  order  to  examine  in  what  manner  discipline  was  every  where 
observed,  and  what  was  the  state  of  the  arms,  engines  of  war,  fortifi- 
cations, ammunition,  and,  in  a  word,  of  every  thing  connected  with 
the  military  department. 

During  these  visits,  the  emperor  required  that  an  account  should 
be  given  him  of  the  conduct  of  the  officers  and  soldiers;  which  being 
done,  he  appropriately  distributed  praises  and  reproaches,  rewards 
and  punishments;  and,  in  the  appointment  of  military  offices,  granted 
nothing  to  favor,  but  every  thing  to  virtue,  merit  and  experience. 
6 


62  MODERN    HISTORY. 


P.irtf 


He  animated  the  military  exercises  by  his  vigilance,  his  presence,  his 
example.  He  suppressed  with  inexorable  severity  whatever  pro- 
moted or  favored  effeminacy  among  the  troops,  and  showed  in  his 
own  person  a  perfect  pattern  of  military  discipline,  living  with  the 
soldiers  as  one  of  them,  using  the  most  common  food,  wearing  a 
plain  dress  and  carrying  heavy  arms,  braving  the  inconveniences  of 
the  various  climes  and  seasons,  and  walking,  with  his  head  uncovered, 
through  the  snow  of  the  Alps,  as  well  as  through  the  burning  sands 
of  Africa. 

By  these  efficacious  means,  Adrian  revived  the  strictness  of  ancient 
discipline  among  the  troops,  making  himself  however  very  dear  to 
them  by  his  kindness,  affability  and  opportune  favors.  He  paid 
great  attention  to  the  welfare  of  the  soldiers,  especially  of  those  ad- 
vanced in  years,  whom  he  honorably  dismissed  in  due  time,  and  of 
those  who  were  sick,  whom  he  was  accustomed  to  visit  in  their  tents 
or  lodgings. 

The  civil  affairs  were  not  less  carefully  attended  to  by  Adrian.  It 
was  one  of  his  maxims,  that  an  emperor  ought  to  be  like  the  sun, 
which  by  its  regular  course  illuminates  and  vivifies  all  the  regions  of 
the  earth.  He  spent  many  years  in  travelling  through  the  various 
provinces  of  the  empire,  reforming  abuses,  redressing  grievances, 
appointing  good  governors,  and  inflicting  punishments  on  those  who 
had  abused  their  power.  He  likewise,  by  his  own  example  and  as- 
siduity, improved  and  facilitated  the  administration  of  justice,  having 
for  this  purpose  caused  a  collection  to  be  made  of  the  best  ancient 
laws,  and  himself  having  enacted  wise  statutes  against  frandulent 
bankrupts  and  a  variety  of  other  disorders. 

His  conduct  towards  the  senate  was  habitually  full  of  deference 
and  respect ;  towards  the  people,  .condescending  but  firm ;  towards 
the  allies  and  subjects  of  the  empire,  kind  and  liberal.  He  remitted 
the  whole  sum  due  to  the  exchequer  (nine  hundred  millions  of  ses- 
terces, nearly  twenty-five  millions  of  dollars),  and  publicly  burnt  all 
the  books  and  records  which  might  afterwards  be  produced  to  revive 
that  debt.  This  action  of  Adrian  did  him  great  honor,  and  was 
justly  celebrated  by  inscriptions  and  monuments.  On  the  whole, 
although  his  government  proved  fatal  to  some  illustrious  persons  whom 
he  harassed  and  persecuted,  it  was  highly  beneficial  to  the  state.  On 
many  particular  occasions,  the  emperor  manifested  a  wonderful  cle- 
mency, and  regard  for  truth.  One  day  a  poor  woman  cried  out  to 
him:  "  Caesar,  hear  me  and  give  me  justice."  Adrian  having  an- 
swered that  he  had  no  time;  "why,  then,  are  you  our  emperor?" 
asked  the  woman.  The  prince  was  struck,  but  not  offended  by  this 
bold  question;  he  stopped,  and  listened  to  her  complaints.  How- 
ever, he  took  care  not  to  be  imposed  upon  by  artful  petitioners.  A 


A.  D.  117—138. 


ADRIAN.  63 


grey-headed  man  asksd  him  a  favor  which  was  refused.  Some  time 
after,  the  same  mun  r.pplied  again  to  Adrian  for  the  same  purpose, 
with  his  hair  blackened.  The  emperor  pretended  not  to  recognize 
him,  and  coolly  dismissed  him,  saying:  "  What  you  ask,  I  have  al- 
ready refused  to  your  father." 

Adrian  had  remarkable  talents  and  a  very  extensive  knowledge. 
He  was  well  versed  in  mathematics,  history,  natural  philosophy,  etc., 
and  deserved  to  be  considered  one  of  the  best  grammarians,  orators 
and  poets  of  the  age.  His  mind  was  acute  and  sagacious;  he  could 
at  the  same  time  write,  dictate  to  a  secretary,  give  audience  to  and 
converse  with  his  friends.  His  memory  also  was  astonishing.  He 
remembered  every  thing  that  he  had  seen  or  read,  and  forgot  neither 
the  nature  of  the  affairs  which  passed  through  his  hands,  nor  the 
places  in  which  he  had  been,  nor  the  names  of  the  persons  with 
whom  he  had  conversed.  After  reading  a  book,  he  could  repeat  it 
from  beginning  to  end;  nay,  if  a  list  of  names  confusedly  mixed 
together  was  recited  to  him,  he  would  repeat  them  all  without  a 
mistake.* 

His  genius  was  not  less  elevated  than  extensive,  and  always 
prompted  him  to  undertake  great  things  for  the  splendor  and  utility 
of  the  state.  No  prince  seems  to  have  surpassed  him  in  the  number 
and  magnificence  of  public  buildings.  Such  were,  in  Rome,  the 
bridge  and  castle  now  called  St.  Angelo ;  in  Asia,  the  new  city  of 
Jerusalem;  in  Great  Britain,  a  wall  eighty  miles  long  and  extending 
from  sea  to  sea,  to  protect  the  Roman  colonies  against  the  attacks  of 
the  Scots;  and  in  Gaul,  the  splendid  amphitheatre  of  Nismes,  which 
however  is  ascribed  by  some  to  the  emperor  Antoninus  Pius,  who 
derived  his  pedigree  from  that  city. 

The  tranquillity  of  Adrian's  reign  was  disturbed  only  by  a  revolt 
of  the  Jews.  Many  of  this  infatuated  people  had  already  perished 
under  Trajan  for  the  same  cause.  *  Being  checked  for  a  time,  but  not 
subdued,  they  again  rose  in  arms,  and  committed  horrid  cruelties  in 
Syria  and  Palestine,  under  the  conduct  of  a  certain  Barcochebas, 
who  called  himself  the  Messiah;  for,  after  having  rejected  the  true 
Messiah  in  the  person  of  our  Saviour,  the  Jews  Were  easily  led  to 
follow  impostors.  Their  rebellious  obstinacy  obtained,  as  it  merited, 
a  total  and  irreparable  overthrow.  Adrian  sent  against  them  nu- 
merous troops  under  the  command  of  Tinnius  Rufus  and  Julius 
Severus,  two  able  officers,  who  greatly  distinguished  themselves  in 
this  war. 

The  forces  of  the  rebels  were  so  formidable,  and  their  animosity  so 

*  See  Spartian,  Dion  Cassius  and  Aurelius  Victor,  apud  Crevier,  Bistoire 
dcs  Empcrcurs  Romains,  vol.  VIII,  p.  63. 


64  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Part  I. 


great,  that  the  Roman  generals  did  not  think  proper  to  engage  them 
in  a  regular  battle.  They  had  recourse  to  a  war  of  skirmishes  and 
detached  parties,  hunting  the  Jews  as  they  would  wild  beasts,  and 
pursuing  them  to  death  in  every  part  of  the  country.  This  manner 
of  warfare  proved  so  successful  to  the  Romans,  that,  within  the 
space  of  three  years  (from  A.  D.  134  to  136),  they  took  and  destroyed 
nine  hundred  and  eighty-five  towns,  besides  fifty  fortresses.  In  these 
partial  engagements,  five  hundred  and  eighty  thousand  Jews  perished 
by  the  sword  only;  it  was  impossible  to  tell  the  number  of  those  who 
fell  victims  to  fire,  sickness,  or  starvation.  All  who  escaped  death 
were  dispersed  throughout  the  empire,  and  sold  in  public  fairs  like 
horses  and  cattle.  In  no  country  were  they  subsequently  greater 
strangers  than  in  Judea,  and  particularly  in  Jerusalem,  which  was 
rebuilt  shortly  after  under  the  name  of  JElia  Capitolina ;  they  were 
forbidden  not  only  to  dwell  in  it,  but  even  to  approach  within  three 
miles  of  its  walls. 

From  that  time,  the  Jews  have  been  scattered  through  the  various 
parts  of  the  globe,  without  any  country  belonging  to  them;  without 
kings  and  princes  of  their  own  descent;  without  laws  and  magistrates 
of  their  own;  mingled,  but  not  confounded  with  other  nations;  flat- 
tering themselves  with  the  vain  expectation  of  a  future  Messiah, 
whilst,  from  the  very  words  of  their  sacred  records,  he  must  have  ap- 
peared upon  earth  eighteen  hundred  years  ago.  Prom  that  time,  we 
sec  them  exposed,  during  the  long  course  of  ages,  to  numberless  dis- 
asters and  calamities,  but  always  preserved  by  the  mighty  hand  of 
God,  that  they  may  ever  continue  visible  examples  of  his  justice,  and 
unexceptionable  witnesses  to  the  truth  of  the  Ancient  Scriptures,  in 
which  we  read  alike  our  claims  and  their  condemnation. 

Adrian  did  not  long  survive  the  conclusion  of  this  second  Jewish 
war :  being  attacked  with  the  dropsy,  and  tormented  by  violent  pains, 
he  wished  to  end  his  life  by  the  sword  or  by  poison;  but  the  constant 
vigilance  and  care  of  his  adopted  son  Antoninus  prevented  the  deed. 
He  then  vented  his  fury  against  several  members  of  the  senate, 
whom  he  condemned,  without  any  legal  cause,  to  capital  punish- 
ment; but  these  also  Antoninus  saved  from  death,  by  telling  them  to 
conceal  themselves.  Adrian,  however,  still  continued  to  take  part  in 
the  affairs  of  the  state.  At  length,  he  retired  from  Rome  to  Baia  in 
Campania,  where  he  observed  no  regimen,  ate  and  drank  whatever 
pleased  him,  without  any  regard  to  his  situation,  remarking  that 
"the  multitude  of  physicians  had  killed  the  emperor."  He  died  at 
the  age  of  sixty-two,  after  a  reign  of  twenty-one  years  (A.  D.  138). 
As  he  had,  towards  the  end  of  his  life,  rendered  himself  odious  to  the 
senate,  it  was  with  great  difficulty  that  Antoninus  obtained  for  him 
the  usual  honors  which  attended  imperial  obsequies. 


A.D.KB-J61.  ANTONINUS    PIUS.  65 

The  truth  is,  Adrian  neither  deserved  much  regret,  on  account  of 
his  many  private  vices  and  some  acts  of  tyranny,  nor  however  did  he 
merit  the  violent  resentment  of  the  senate,  considering  the  habitual 
mildness,  wisdom  and  prosperity  of  his  government.  It  is  highly 
probable  that  his  memory  would  have  obtained  greater  praise,  had  he 
been  the  immediate  successor  of  Domitian.  It  was  an  unfavorable 
circumstance  for  his  public  character,  that  he  came  to  the  throne  after 
Nerva  and  Trajan,  and  immediately  before  Antoninus  Pius  and  Mar- 
cus Aurelius,  the  most  excellent  emperors  of  pagan  Rome. 

Although  literature  was  not  so  nourishing  under  Adrian  as  it  had 
been  during  the  two  preceding  centuries,  still  it  produced  some  cele- 
brated writers,  viz.  the  Latin  historians  Justin  and  Suetonius;  the 
Greek  historians  Arrian  and  Plutarch,  and  the  renowned  philosopher 
Epictetus.  Adrian  himself  wrote  on  different  subjects,  and  even  on 
his  death-bed  composed  verses  expressing  his  conviction  of  the  im- 
mortality of  the  soul,  and  the  fears  which  he  entertained  respecting 
his  future  destiny. 


ANTONINUS  PIUS.— A.  D.  138—161. 


THE  family  of  Antoninus  was  originally  from  Gaul,  but  he  himself 
was  a  native  of  Italy.  Being  chosen  by  the  late  emperor  to  be  his 
successor,  he  proved  himself  in  every  respect  worthy  of  this  exalted 
station.  When  the  demise  of  Adrian  put  him  in  possession  of  the 
sovereign  power,  the  whole  empire  seemed  to  be  exulting  with  joy  j 
nor  did  this  extraordinary  esteem  entertained  for  Antoninus  suffer  any 
diminution  during  a  reign  of  more  than  twenty-two  years.  The 
surname  of  Pius  was  given  him,  to  perpetuate  the  remembrance  of 
his  tender  affection  for  his  adopted  father,  his  family,  and  all  his  sub- 
jects. What  he  had  hitherto  been  in  private  life  and  in  inferior  em- 
ployments, that  he  continued  to  be  when  seated  on  the  imperial 
throne ;  mild,  generous,  affable,  listening  with  patience  to  every  one, 
granting  all  that  was  reasonable  and  just,  and  returning  good  offices 
for  insults  and  ingratitude. 

Thus  when,  on  occasion  of  a  conspiracy  which  was  happily 
detected,  he  could  not  rescue  its  authors  from  the  rigor  of  the  law,  he 
at  least  put  a  stop  to  all  inquiries  about  their  accomplices.  "  I  would 
not,"  said  he,  "  begin  my  government  with  acts  of  severity  ;"  adding, 
with  a  smile :  (e  It  would  be  both  dishonorable  and  unpleasant  to  me, 
to  find,  upon  inquiry,  that  I  was  hated  by  a  number  of  my  fellow- 
citizens."  The  son  of  one  of  the  chief  conspirators  not  only  was  not 
involved  in  his  father's  punishment,  but,  on  the  contrary,  always 
6* 


66  MODERN  HISTORY. 


Tart  I. 


found  in  the  emperor  a  protector  and  a  friend.  This  clemency  of 
Antoninus,  like  that  of  Augustus,  produced  an  excellent  effect,  and 
no  more  conspiracies  were  formed  against  a  prince  who  revenged 
himself  in  so  noble  a  manner. 

The  same  kindness  and  generosity  appeared  in  his  conduct  towards 
a  Grecian  philosopher,  by  whom  he  had  been  shamefully  offended. 
When  he  was  proconsul  of  Asia  Minor,  being  at  Smyrna,  he  took 
his  lodging  in  the  house  of  this  man  called  Polemon,  who  then  hap- 
pened to  be  absent.  Upon  his  return  home,  Polemon,  instead  of 
finding  himself  much  honored,  was  highly  displeased  at  seeing  his 
house  occupied  by  the  proconsul.  He  began  to  utter  loud  com- 
plaints, and  went  so  far  as  to  oblige  him,  in  the  middle  of  the  night, 
to  seek  another  lodging.  This  was  a  crying  insult ;  yet  Antoninus 
never  thought  of  punishing  it  otherwise  than  by  innocent  raillery. 
When  Polemon  afterwards  came  to  Rome,  he  received  him  kindly, 
and  ordered  an  apartment  to  be  provided  for  him  in  the  palace,  say. 
ing  with  a  cheerful  voice :  "  Let  no  one  be  so  bold  as  to  expel  such 
a  guest,  even  during  tJie  day."  A  comedian  having  also  complained 
that  the  same  Polemon  had  driven  him  from  the  stage — "  at  what 
hour,"  asked  the  emperor,  "did  this  happen?"  "At  mid-day," 
answered  the  comedian.  "  Why!"  exclaimed  Antoninus,  "  he  onoe 
expelled  me  from  his  house  at  midnight,  and  I  bore  it  patiently." 

Many  other  instances  might  be  adduced  of  his  surprising  meek- 
ness; it  always  rose  superior  to  injuries  and  affronts,  yet  never  dege- 
nerated into  weakness.  He  employed  rigor  against  guilty  persons, 
whenever  good  order  and  necessity  required ;  but  then,  not  to  offer, 
in  such  circumstances,  too  much  violence  to  the  benevolent  inclina- 
tion of  his  heart,  he  found  out  such  expedients  for  moderating  that 
rigor,  as  could  not  by  their  example  be  prejudicial  to  the  commu- 
nity. Thus,  for  instance,  a  senator  having  been  convicted  of  par- 
ricide, as  it  was  not  possible  to  save  the  life  of  such  a  monster,  the 
emperor,  not  to  be  shocked  by  the  sight  of  his  punishment,  caused 
him  to  be  transported  into  a  barren  island,  where  he  might  perish  by 
hunger  and  misery. 

Antoninus,  both  from  taste  and  reflection,  was  a  constant  friend 
of  peace.  He  often  repeated  this  saying  of  Scipio  :  ts  I  like  better  to 
preserve  one  citizen,  than  to  kill  a  thousand  enemies."  He  generally 
had  the  satisfaction  to  enjoy  the  tranquillity  which  he  so  much 
desired ;  and,  not  being  distracted  by  the  cares  of  war,  he  applied 
himself  entirely  to  the  promotion  of  public  and  private  happiness. 
His  attention  was  constantly  occupied  in  governing  the  state,  as  a 
good  and  diligent  father  governs  his  children  and  household.  Fai 
from  making  exactions,  he  obliged  his  intendants,  under  severe  penal- 
ties, to  levy  the  taxes  with  moderation.  To  the  many  calamitous 


A.D.138--161.  ANTONINUS  PIUS.  67 

events  which  happened  during  his  reign,  he  applied  all  the  reme- 
dies in  his  power,  and  showed  in  numberless  instances  that  he  had 
nothing  so  much  at  heart,  as  to  lighten  the  burden  of  his  people. 

This  excellent  prince  was  also  favorably  inclined  towards  the  Chris- 
tians, so  much  exposed  at  that  time  to  public  hatred.  The  prejuch'ces 
of  the  pagan  world  against  their  religion,  and  the  calumnies  with 
which  they  were  blackened,  continually  raised  storms  against  them, 
and,  even  under  the  best  princes,  led  many  of  them  to  martyrdom. 
No  sooner  was  Antoninus,  through  the  eloquent  apology  of  St.  Jus 
tin  and  other  documents,  well  informed  of  their  innocence,  than  he 
endeavored  to  shelter  them  from  the  blind  fury  of  the  populace,  and 
from  the  injustice  of  magistrates  and  governors.  In  a  rescript  directed 
"to  those  of  Asia  Minor,  he  took  the  part  of  the  persecuted,  ex- 
tolled their  fidelity  to  God,  their  courage  in  suffering  death,  and 
turned  his  praises  of  their  virtues  into  reproaches  against  the  vices 
of  their  persecutors.  He  concluded  the  rescript  by  declaring  that  the 
Christian  name  was  by  no  means  a  just  cause  of  condemnation,  and 
that,  if  any  were  brought  before  the  courts  upon  no  other  charge, 
they  ought  to  be  acquitted,  and  their  accusers  punished. 

The  benefits  arising  from  so  excellent  a  government,  were  not 
confined  to  the  Romans  and  subjects  of  the  empire:  the  reputation 
of  Antoninus  for  justice,  impartiality  and  wisdom,  gained  him  a  de- 
gree of  authority  and  influence  over  the  neighboring  nations,  which 
he  never  would  have  obtained  by  force  of  arms.  Foreign  princes 
came  to  pay  him  homage  in  Rome;  the  Indians,  the  Bactrians,  the 
Hyrcanians,  testified  their  respect  for  him  by  solemn  embassies.  He 
prevented  by  letters  the  Parthian  king  from  invading  Armenia;  and 
the  very  barbarians  near  the  frontiers  frequently  chose  him  as  an 
umpire  to  settle  their  claims  and  differences. 

It  was  in  these  noble  occupations  that  Antoninus  spent  the  whole 
of  his  reign,  the  blessings  of  which  he  completed  by  the  appointment 
of  Marcus-Aurelius  for  his  successor.  After  a  short  disease,  he  died 
a  tranquil  death,  at  the  age  of  seventy-three  years  (A.  D.  161),  leaving 
a  name  so  dear  to  the  Romans,  that,  for  nearly  a  century,  all  his  suc- 
cessors added  it  to  their  own  names :  it  seemed  as  if  it  were  impossible, 
for  either  the  soldiers  or  the  citizens,  to  acknowledge  as  emperor  any 
one  who  should  not  have  some  resemblance,  were  it  but  a  nominal 
one,  with  Antoninus.  Yet,  it  would '  nave  been  infinitely  better  for 
him,  if  he  had  left  as  unblemished  a  reputation  for  purity  of  life  as 
for  wisdom  of  government;  and  if  his  many  excellent  qualities  and 
princely  virtues  had  been  sanctified  by  the  only  true  religion,  whose 
followers  indeed  he  admired,  but  whose  doctrines  he  ^ad  not  the 
happiness  to  embrace. 


MODERN     HISTORY.  Part  l 


MARCUS-AURELIUS— A.  D.  161— ISO. 

MARCUS-AURELIUS  considered  it  his  bounden  duty  to  walk  in  the 
footeteps  of  his  predecessor,  and  to  govern  the  state  upon  the  same 
principles.  Although  he  was  not  so  firm,  prudent,  and  free  from 
prejudices  as  Antoninus,  yet  he  displayed  the  same  zeal  for  the  pub- 
lic good,  the  same  application  to  affairs,  the  same  moderation  and 
generosity;  so  that  his  reign,  notwithstanding  the  vices  of  Lucius 
Verus  whom  he  had  taken  as  his  colleague,  was  also  a  period  of 
glory  and  happiness  for  the  Romans. 

About  this  time,  the  Parthians  invaded  Armenia,  which  they  had 
long  since  threatened.  They  destroyed  the  legions  which  defended 
that  country,  and  advancing  into  Syria,  filled  every  place  with  terror 
and  desolation.  Marcus-Aurelius  being  detained  in  Italy,  took  proper 
measures  to  repel  the  invaders.  Avidius  Cassius,  one  of  his  generals, 
not  only  defeated  the  Parthians,  but  also  crossed  the  Euphrates,  and 
continued  his  march  as  far  as  the  royal  city  of  Seleucia,  which  he 
plundered  and  reduced  to  ashes.  But  these  brilliant  exploits  were 
dearly  purchased.  The  victorious  legions,  on  their  return,  brought 
along  with  them  a  pestilence  which  produced  so  dreadful  ravages 
in  the  empire,  especially  in  Italy,  that  more  persons  were  carried  off 
by  it  within  the  space  of  a  few  months,  than  would  have  perished 
during  many  years  of  the  most  disastrous  war  (A.  D.  166). 

This  expedition  against  the  Parthians  was  followed  by  another 
against  the  Marcomans,  the  Q,uadi,  and  other  barbarians,  who,  driven 
from  the  north  of  Asia  and  Europe  by  more  powerful  tribes,  or  en- 
ticed by  the  hope  of  pillage,  were  striving  to  break  through  the  bar- 
riers of  the  empire.  Marcus-Aurelius  went  to  put  himself  at  the 
head  of  the  legions,  and  evinced  during  the  whole  campaign  a  skill 
and  .valor  which  drew  upon  him  general  admiration.  However, 
after  many  victories,  he  suffered  himself  and  his  troops  to  be  entan- 
gled in  narrow  defiles  amidst  the  mountains  of  Bohemia,  where,  be- 
ing surrounded  on  all  sides  by  the  enemy,  they  were  on  the  point  of 
perishing  with  heat  and  thirst.  In  that  extremity,  the  soldiers  of  the 
twelfth  legion,  all  Christians,  betook  themselves  to  prayer,  and  pre- 
sently the  clouds  gathered,  and  an  abundant  rain  fell,  which  refreshed 
the  Romans;  whereas  hail,  thunder  and  lightning  spread  confusion 
among  the  barbarians,  and  enabled  Marcus-Aurelius  to  gain  a  com- 
plete victory  (A.  D.  174).  On  this  occasion,  his  army  saluted  him 
Imperator  for  the  seventh  time,  and  the  name  of  Thundering  was 
given,  or  confirmed  to  the  twelfth  legion. 

This  prodigy,  which  pagan  writers  themselves  relate,*  and  whicb 

*  Dion  Cassius,  Capitolinus,  Claudian,  etc.  apud  Tillemont  vol.  ir,  p.  370 


A.  D.  j 80-1 93.    COMMODUS PERTINAX DIDIUS.          69 

is  still  seen  engraved  on  the  Antonine  pillar  at  Rome,  stopped  for  a 
time  the  persecution  that  the  Christians  were  then  suffering ;  the 
war  however  had  but  little  interruption,  and  lasted  till  the  end  of  the 
emperor's  life  (A.  D.  180).  He  died  at  Vienna,  near  the  Danube, 
having  obtained  a  great  reputation  for  political  and  military  acquire- 
ments, and  still  more  celebrated  foi  his  moral  virtues,  which  were 
not  however  without  a  mixture  of  many  great  failings,  viz.  his  reli- 
gious bigotry,  his  weak  connivance  at  the  vices  of  his  son  Commo- 
dus  and.  of  other  persons  under  his  control,  etc.  He  had  lived  fifty- 
nine  years,  and  reigned  nineteen. 

Besides  being  a  great  emperor  and  general,  Marcus-Aurelius  was 
also  an  estimable  author:  he  has  left  twelve  books  of  wise  maxims 
on  the  rules  of  morality. 


COMMODUS— PERTINAX— DIDIUS  JULIANUS.— A.  r>.   180—193. 


COMMODUS  succeeded  his  father  on  the  throne,  but  followed  a  very 
different  line  of  conduct.  A  monster,  rather  than  a  man,  he  seemed 
to  have  no  relish  but  for  atrocious  deeds  of  every  description.  He 
imitated  Nero  in  his  worst  and  basest  inclinations,  and  surpassed  Do- 
mitian  in  his  cruelties,  except  that  he  did  not  persecute  the  Christians. 
After  having  gone  on  in  this  way  for  many  years,  his  unrelenting  thirst 
for  blood  at  length  caused  his  own  death,  by  inducing  the  persons  of  his 
household  to  poison  and  strangle  him,  on  the  last  day  of  the  year  one 
hundred  and  ninety^two. 

On  the  following  day,  Pertinax,  a  venerable  man,  whose  uncom- 
mon merit  amply  compensated  for  the  lowness  of  his  extraction,  was 
chosen  and  unanimously  acknowledged  emperor.  Under  him,  the 
paternal  and  firm  administration  of  Antoninus  began  to  revive.  In  a 
very  short  time,  the  laws  were  again  put  in  force,  the  debts  were  paid, 
the  public  revenues  increased  without  laying  new  taxes,  and  power- 
ful encouragements  were  given  to  agriculture,  as  the  surest  means 
of  prosperity  both  for  the  state  and  fox  private  families.  In  a  word, 
the  sound  policy  of  Pertinax,  seconded  by  his  ability  and  experience, 
promised  lasting  as  well  as  universal  happiness;  but  these  flattering 
hopes  were  soon  blasted.  At  the  end  of  three  months,  the  pratorian 
soldiers  incensed  at  his  exertions  for  the  restoration  of  military  discip- 
line, slew  him  in  his  palace  (A.  D.  193). 

After  this  outrage,  the  rebels  were  not  ashamed  to  expose  the  em- 
pire to  sale  at  public  auction.  Purchasers  were  found,  and  after  bid- 
ding for  some  time,  Didius  Julianus,  a  rich  senator,  carried  the  point. 


70  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Tart  I, 


by  offering  twenty-five  thousand  sesterces  (about  six  hundred  and 
twenty-five  dollars)  to  each  praetorian. 

This  shameful  transaction  drew  universal  contempt  upon  Didius. 
Severus,  commander  of  the  Roman  troops  in  Illyria,  caused  himself 
to  be  proclaimed  emperor  by  them,  and  suddenly  departing,  crossed 
the  Alps,  and  made  his  appearance  in  Italy,  before  the  news  of  his 
march  had  arrived.  As  he  approached  Rome,  Didius  showed  noth- 
ing but  weakness  and  hesitation.  This  unfortunate  man  saw  him- 
self gradually  abandoned  by  the  praetorians,  betrayed  by  the  Italic  co- 
horts, and  condemned  by  the  senate.  His  death,  after  a  precariou? 
reign  of  sixty-six  days,  delivered  Severus  from  a  contemptible  rival 


SEPTIMIUS  SEVERUS.— A.  D.  193—211. 


Two  other  and  much  more  powerful  competitors  were  yet  in  his 
way,  Clodius  Albinus  and  Pescennius  Niger,  men  of  great  valor 
and  reputation.  Like  Severus  himself,  they  were,  after  the  death 
of  Pertinax,  proclaimed  emperors  in  their  respective  governments, 
Albinus  in  Great  Britain,  and  Niger  in  Syria.  Severus  was  deter- 
mined to  destroy  them  both ;  still,  not  to  be  engaged  at  once  in  two 
dangerous  wars,  he  made  first  an  agreement  with  Albinus,  by 
which  he  granted  him  a  sort  of  participation  in  the  imperial  authori- 
ty, and  prepared  to  attack  Niger. 

After  a  short  stay  in  Rome,  Severus  departed  for  the  East  with 
numerous  and  well  disciplined  troops.  Niger  had  on  his  side  the 
legions  of  Syria  and  Asia  Minor.  From  the  character,  firmness  and 
ability  of  the  two  rivals,  a  war  of  long  duration  was  anticipated;  it 
was  however  terminated  in  a  few  months  by  three  battles,  in  which 
all  the  troops  of  Niger  were  overcome,  not  by  Severus  in  person, 
who  was  then  occupied  in  besieging  Byzantium,  but  by  his  lieu- 
tenants. The  last  battle  was  fought  near  the  town  of  Issus  in  Cili- 
cia,  on  the  same  spot  where  Alexander  the  Great  formerly  gained  a 
splendid  victory  over  the  Persians.  The  victory  of  Severus  was 
also  complete.  Niger  lost  twenty  thousand  men,  and  saw  no  other 
resource  than  to  retire  beyond  the  Euphrates;  but  being  overtaken 
in  his  flight  by  some  cavaliers  of  the  victorious  party,  he  was  slain 
by  them,  and  his  head  carried  to  Severus  (A.  D.  195). 

The  conqueror  inflicted  heavy  penalties  on  the  towns  which  had 
embraced  the  party  of  his  opponent;  especially  on  Antioch,  the  capital 
of  the  Eas'.,  and  on  Byzantium,  which  surrendered  to  him,  only 
after  a  long  siege  and  a  most  obstinate  resistance.  He  deprived  the 
former  of  its  privileges ;  the  latter  he  almost  entirely  destroyed. 


A.  D.  193-211.  SEPTIMIUS    SEVERUS.  71 

Such  private  individuals  as  had  been  seen  most  devoted  to  the 
same  cause,  were  also  treated  with  great  rigor;  some  suffered  capital 
punishment;  others  lost  their  estates,  or  were  condemned  to  pay 
enormous  taxes. 

Motives  of  policy,  and  the  fear  of  rendering  himself  too  odious, 
prevented  Severus  from  carrying  severity  farther.  He  published  an 
amnesty  for  the  common  soldiers,  and  would  not  suffer  a  pompous 
inscription  in  honor  of  Niger  to  be  erased,  saying  it  was  rather  fit 
that  it  should  remain,  to  let  the  world  know  what  an  enemy  he  had 
conquered.  The  main  object  which  he  now  had  in  view,  was  to 
destroy  Albinus,  and  thus  obtain  exclusive  possession  of  the  throne. 
Albinus,  on  his  part,  was  little  satisfied  with  the  inferior  qualification 
of  Caesar,  and  seeing-  himself  supported  by  a  powerful  army  and  a 
respectable  portion  ol  the  Roman  senate,  he  publicly  assumed  the  title 
of  Augustus. 

This  bold  step  was  precisely  what  Severus  desired ;  his  artful  policy 
made  him  always  endeavor  to  have  appearances  on  his  side,  and  per- 
mit his  adversary  to  become  the  aggressor.  He  was  returning  from 
the  East  to  Rome,  when  he  received  information  of  the  open  defec- 
tion of  Albinus.  Severus  did  not  fail  to  improve  this  favorable  oppor- 
tunity of  inveighing  against  his  rival,  and  having  him  declared  a 
public  enemy;  from  that  moment,  the  two  competitors  openly 
marched  against  each  other;  Severus  from  Maesia,  and  Albinus  from 
Britain. 

It  appears  that  the  intention  of  Albinus  was  to  penetrate  into  Italy, 
and  cause  himself  to  be  acknowledged  in  Rome.  Severus,  fully 
aware  how  essential  it  was  for  his  interests  to  prevent  the  execution 
of  any  such  design,  detached  some  bodies  of  troops  to  guard  ihe  pas- 
sages of  the  Alps,  and  followed  with  all  possible  speed,  at  the  head 
of  the  main  portion  of  his  army.  He  set  the  example  of  invincible 
fortitude  in  the  greatest  fatigues.  No  difficulty  of  the  roads  was 
able  to  stop  his  inarch ;  he  was  bare-headed,  disregarded  snow  and 
frosts,  and  both  by  words  and  actions,  transfused  into  the  breasts  of 
others  the  ardor  with  which  he  himself  was  animated.  He  was  thus 
enabled  to  prevent  the  entrance  of  his  enemy  into  Italy,  and  to  come 
up  with  him  near  the  city  of  Lyons  in  Gaul. 

The  quarrel  between  these  two  fierce  rivals  was  now  about  to  be 
decided.  The  two  armies,  including  at  least  one  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  combatants,  were  equal  in  number,  in  courage,  and  in  the 
advantages  of  being  headed  by  their  respective  emperors.  All  these 
circumstances  contributed  to  render  the  battle  terrible,  and  to 
leave  the  victory  for  a  long  time  doubtful.  The  left  wing  of 
Albinus  was  broken,  and  the  fugitives  were  pursued  to  their  camp ; 
but  his  right  wing  obtained  at  first  a  considerable  advantage.  The 


72  MODERN   HISTORY.  Part  T. 

legionary  soldiers  of  whom  it  was  composed,  had  dug  before  them  a 
great  number  of  ditches,  and  covered  them  over  slightly  with  clay, 
so  artfully  that  no  one  could  perceive  the  snare.  To  draw  the  ene- 
my into  it,  they  pretended  to  be  afraid,  and  hurling  their  javelins 
from  afar,  immediately  retreated.  The  stratagem  was  successful :  the 
troops  of  Severus,  anxious  to  come  to  a  close  engagement,  and 
despising  their  adversaries,  advanced  without  any  precaution ;  but 
they  were  stopped  at  once  by  an  obstacle  as  formidable  as  it  was 
unexpected.  Coming  to  the  place  which  was  overspread  with  clay, 
the  earth  sunk  under  their  feet,  and  the  whole  first  line  fell  into  the 
ditches.  As  the  lines  were  very  close,  the  second  had  no  time  to  re- 
trace their  steps,  and  fell  upon  the  first.  Those  who  followed,  ter- 
rified at  this,  drew  back  hastily,  and  beat  down  their  companions  be- 
hind them ;  so  that  the  whole  left  wing  of  Severus  was  thrown  into 
utter  confusion. 

In  this  extreme  danger,  Severus,  with  the  imperial  guard,  flew  to 
the  assistance  of  his  disheartened  troops.  But  at  first,  far  from  reme- 
dying the  evil,  he  saw  even  his  praetorian  soldiers  scattered  and  cut 
in  pieces,  and  had  a  horse  killed  under  him.  This  served  only  to 
animate  him  the  more:  rallying  some  of  the  fugitives,  and  putting 
himself  at  their  head,  he  fell,  sword  in  hand,  upon  the  enemy,  deter- 
mined to  conquer  or  die.  His  little  troop,  animated  by  his  example, 
hewed  down  all  before  them,  without  distinction  of  friend  or  foe. 
Numbers  of  fugitives  were  thus  forced  to  return  to  the  charge;  and 
the  conquerors,  who,  through  eagerness,  had  already  broken  their 
ranks  in  order  to  pursue  their  advantage,  were  now  compelled  to  fight 
in  their  own  defence. 

The  battle  was  renewed  with  fresh  fury:  but  the  victory  still  re- 
mained doubtful,  till  Laetus,  the  commander  of  the  horse  of  Severus, 
decided  the  fate  of  the  day.  He  had  declined  engaging  in  the  begin- 
ning of  the  fight,  perhaps  through  a  perfidious  design  to  let  the  two 
emperors  destroy  each  other,  in  order  to  set  up  afterwards  for  himself. 
But  when  he  saw  that  fortune  began  to  declare  for  Severus,  being 
sensible  of  the  danger  to  which  his  unwary  inactivity  exposed  him 
he  fell  upon  the  flank  of  the  enemy,  whilst  Severus  attacked  them 
vigorously  in  front.  Unable  any  longer  to  keep  their  ground,  they 
fled,  and  took  shelter  within  the  city,  together  with  Albinus,  who 
either  died  of  his  wounds,  or  killed  himself  in  despair.  By  this  .com- 
plete but  bloody  victory,  Severus  was  left  (A.  D.  197)  without  a  com- 
petitor; having,  in  less  than  four  years,  destroyed  three  emperors, 
Didius-.Tulianus,  Niger  and  Albinus. 

He  made  a  terrible  use  of  his  prosperity,  and  showed  himself  more 
cruel  and  inexorable  than  ever.  After  Albinus  had'expired,  his  vio- 
lent enemy  spurred  his  horse  on  the  dead  body,  which  he  caused  t« 


A.    D.    193-211. 


SEPTIMIUS  SEVERUS.  73 


remain  exposed  until  it  was  devoured  by  dogs,  and  sent  the  head  to 
the  senate,  with  alarming  threats  against  those  who  had  followed  the 
party  of  that  unfortunate  general.  His  wife,  children  and  friends,  all 
those  who  could  be  discovered  to  have  been  his  leading  partisans, 
were  put  to  death.  Many  towns  in  Gaul  and  Spain  had  to  rnoura 
the  loss  of  their  worthiest  citizens,  especially  of  such  as  were  rich,  in 
whom  their  wealth  was  too  frequently  their  only  crime. 

By  means  like  these,  Severus  amassed  immense  treasures,  of  which 
he  made  use  chiefly  to  gain  the  affection  of  the  soldiery  by  favors  and 
largesses.  His  return  to  Rome  with  his  victorious  troops,  spread  ter- 
ror through  the  city,  and  in  a  few  days  forty  senators  fell  victims  to 
his  revenge. 

On  this  occasion,  Severus  received  a  striking  lesson  from  his 
younger  son  Geta,  who  was  then  only  eight  years  old.  The  boy, 
having  heard  his  father  declare  how  he  would  revenge  himself, 
seemed  greatly  concerned.  In  order  to  quiet  his  apprehensions,  Se- 
verus said  that  the  persons  who  had  been  marked  out  for  death,  were 
enemies,  of  whom  he  was  going  to  deliver  him.  Geta  then  asked 
how  many  there  might  be  of  those  unfortunate  people.  Being  told 
the  number,  he  grew  still  more  pensive,  and  again  asked  whether 
these  unhappy  men  had  any  relations  or  friends  alive ;  and,  as  he 
was  answered  that  most  of  them  had  several;  "Alas!"  replied  he, 
"  there  will  be  then  more  persons  sorry  for  our  victory,  than  will  par- 
take of  our  joy."  Severus  was  struck  by  a  remark  at  once  so  judicious 
and  humane;  but  the  prefects  of  his  guards  urged  him  to  execute  the 
proposed  slaughter,  and  his  eldest  son,  Caracalla,  proposed  that  even 
the  children  of  their  enemies  should  be  put  to  death  with  their  fathers . 
Upon  which  Geta,  with  a  look  of  indignation,  said  to  him  :  "  Dis- 
posed as  you  appear  to  be  to  spare  the  life  of  none,  you  would  also 
be  capable  of  killing  your  own  brother."  Words  evincing  extraor 
dinary  sagacity,  and  which  were  afterwards  too  well  verified. 

One  of  the  two  prefects  of  the  guards  just  mentioned,  was  Plau- 
tian,  a  proud  and  an  ambitious  man,  whose  fate  was  exactly  similar 
to  that  of  Sejanus  under  Tiberius.  Like  him,  he  obtained  great  in- 
fluence, which  he  most  shockingly  abused,  until,  by  his  insolence,  he 
brought  about  his  ruin,  and  that  of  his  friends  and  family. 

In  the  mean  while,  the  Christians  every  where  acknowledged  and 
faithfully  obeyed  Severus.  For  this  reason,  and  also  from  a  mouve 
of  personal  gratitude  towards  one  of  them  who  had  cured  him  of  a 
dangerous  sickness,  the  emperor  for  some  time  treated  them  kindly. 
A  mistaken  policy  induced  him  afterwards  to  change  his  conduct  in 
theirregard.  The  followers  of  Christ  had  multiplied  exceedingly,  in 
consequence  of  the  long  peace  they  had  enjoyed  since  the  reign  of 
Marrus-Aurelius.  The  miracles  which  Almighty  God  daily  wrougnt 
7 


74  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Tart  I. 


by  their  hands,  and  the  spectacle  of  their  extraordinary  virtue,  drew 
over  to  them  great  numbers  of  proselytes.*  "  We  fill,"  said  Ter- 
tullian  to  them  at  that  very  time,  "  your  cities,  your  towns,  your 
senate  and  your  armies ;  we  leave  you  only  your  temples  and  thea- 
tres.'^ So  rapid  an  increase  threatened  the  downfall  of  idolatry. 
This  was  probably,  together  with  the  clamor  of  the  heathens,  the 
chief  consideration  which  induced  Severus  to  renew  the  persecution 
against  the  Christians.  At  first,  permitting  the  magistrates  to  execute 
the  former  laws  on  this  subject,  he  afterwards  expressly  authorized 
their  conduct  by  a  new  edict  issued  in  the  tenth  year  of  his  reign 
(A.  D.  202).  Then  the  persecution  became  general,  and  countless 
numbers  received  the  crown  of  martyrdom.  The  most  illustrious  of 
those  martyrs  were  St.  Irenaeus,  bishop  of  Lyons,  and  St.  Leonides, 
the  father  of  Origen  who  afterwards  became  so  celebrated  for  his 
genius  and  learning.  Being  at  that  time  but  seventeen  years  old, 
Origen,  in  a  moving  letter,  exhorted  his  father  to  die  courageously  for 
the  faith  of  Christ,  and  he  himself,  through  the  desire  of  martyrdom, 
would  have  gone  to  present  himself  before  the  persecutors,  had  not 
his  mother  compelled  him  to  remain  at  home  by  concealing  his 
clothes. 

The  fire  of  persecution  raged  for  many  years  throughout  the  em- 
pire; but,  far  from  destroying  the  Church,  it  served  only  to  purify 
her,  and  make  her  shine  with  greater  lustre.  The  Christians  pre- 
sented themselves  with  courage  before  the  tribunals,  and  viewed  with 
calmness  the  racks  and  other  instruments  prepared  for  their  torture, 
ready  to  meet  death  in  its  most  cruel  shapes.  The  more  of  them 
were  immolated,  the  more  their  number  increased ;  the  sight  of  these 
wonderful  examples  of  fortitude,  and  of  the  miracles  which  the  Al- 
mighty was  pleased  frequently  to  perform  on  those  occasions,  leading 
many  of  the  spectators,  sometimes  the  very  executioners  and  judges, 
to  embrace  the  Christian  religion. 

Learning  also  and  eloquence  concurred  with  virtue  and  miracles 
in  the  vindication  of  Christianity.  In  order  to  refute  polytheism,  the 
holy  priest  Clement  of  Alexandria  made  deep  researches  in  every 

•  These  undoubtedly,  with  the  assistance  of  inward  grace,  were  the  only 
causes  of  the  stupendous  diffusion  of  Christianity;  and  such  persons  as 
have,  like  Gibbon,  attempted  to  prove  the  contrary,  have  proved  only  the 
pervcrseness  of  their  own  views  and  scepticism.  Nothing  short  of  a  con- 
stant and  special  interposition  of  God  could  have  induced  men,  buried  as 
they  were  in  vice  and  idolatry,  to  embrace  a  religion  so  contrary  to  all  pas- 
sions and  vices,  so  destitute  of  all  human  support,  so  violently  attacked  by 
all  the  powers  of  earth,  by  calumnies,  vexations,  tortures  and  death.  Since 
Christianity  was  not  only  unaided,  but  even  opposed  by  all  natural  and  hu- 
man causes,  most  certainly  its  propagation  must  be  attributed  to  a  cause 
supernatural  and  divine. 

t  Tertull.  dpolog.  c.  37. 


A.  D.  15,3-211.  SEPTIMIUS    SEVERUS.  75 

part  of  heathen  mythology,  and  successfully  used  them  as  mighty 
weapons  against  its  doctrines.  Minutius  Felix,  a  celebrated  law- 
yer at  Rome,  wrote  an  excellent  dialogue  setting  forth,  with  great 
force  of  reasoning  and  purity  of  style,  the  absurdities  of  idolatry  and 
the  excellency  of  the  Christian  doctrine.  But  the  most  powerful 
work  published  at  that  time  was  the  Apologetic  of  Tertullian,  a 
priest  of  Carthage:  in  it,  he  gave  a  deadly  blow  to  paganism,  by 
exposing  its  manifold  errors;  and  victoriously  refuted  every  calumny 
broached  against  the  Christians,  by  exhibiting  the  purity  of  their 
lives,  their  piety  towards  God,  their  mutual  charity,  their  love  of 
their  enemies,  their  horror  for  every  vice,  their  patience  and  con- 
stancy in  suffering  all  kinds  of  torments,  even  death  itself,  for  the 
sake  of  virtue.  This  was  plainly  showing  the  injustice  of  the  perse- 
cution which  they  suffered. 

Notwithstanding  these  and  other  acts  of  tyranny  exercised  by 
Severus,  he  is  not  to  be  reckoned  among  such  abominable  princes  as 
we  have  frequently  had  occasion  to  mention.  With  religious  fanati- 
cism and  an  inflexible  spirit  of  revenge  he  united  many  great  and 
laudable  qualities,  viz.,  frugality,  vigilance,  firmness  in  the  govern- 
ment, prudence  in  the  management  of  the  public  revenues,  assiduity 
and  equity  in  the  administration  of  justice,  in  fine,  a  wonderful  fore- 
sight and  solicitude  in  providing  even  for  the  future  wants  of  the 
people.  When  he  died,  there  was  in  the  public  granaries  a  quantity 
of  wheat  sufficient  to  support  the  inhabitants  of  the  capital  for  seven 
years;  and  all  Italy  was  supplied  with  oil  for  five  years. 

The  predominant  characteristic  of  that  emperor  was  his  activity  and 
warlike  spirit,  and  the  most  striking  feature  in  his  life  is  to  be  found 
in  that  rapidity  of  conquests  which  rendered  him  almost  equal  to 
Julius  Caesar.  Besides  his  exploits  in  civil  wars,  he  made  two  suc- 
cessful campaigns  against  the  Parthians  and  other  nations  of  the 
East,  one  after  the  defeat  of  Niger,  and  the  other  after  the  ruin  of 
Albinus.  In  the  latter  especially,  he  was  so  often  victorious  as  to  ac- 
quire the  surname  of  Parthicus  Maximus.  He  failed  only  in  the  siege 
of  Atra,  a  well  fortified  town  near  the  Tigris,  which  had  also  re- 
pelled Trajan;  but  he  conquered  many  other  towns  in  Assyria  and 
Mesopotamia ;  and  in  particular,  secured  to  the  Romans  the  posses- 
sion of  the  important  city  of  Nisibis,  which  became  the  strongest  bul- 
wark of  the  empire  on  that  frontier. 

The  last  expedition  of  Severus  was  made  in  the  north  of  Great 
Britain  against  the  Caledonians,  whom  he  drove  back  to  their  moun- 
tains. In  order  to  confine  them  within  due  limits,  and  preserve  the 
Roman  colonies  from  subsequent  invasion,  he  raised  a  wall  similar 
to,  but  more  solid  than  the  intrenchment  of  Adrian,  and,  like  it,  ex- 
tending from  one  sea  to  the  other.  Some  of  its  ruins  are  yet  to  be 


76  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Part  1 


seen  between  the  Friths  of  Forth  and  Clyde,  and  excite  the  astonish- 
ment of  the  traveller. 

As  he  was  going  one  day  to  conclude  a  treaty  with  the  barbarians, 
in  presence  of  both  armies,  a  sudden  cry  of  horror  was  heard ;  Seve 
rus  turned,  and  beheld  his  eldest  son,  Caracalla,  in  the  act  of  advanc- 
ing, sword  in  hand,  to  stab  him  from  behind.  The  outcry  stopped 
the  arm  of  the  unnatural  son,  and  his  father,  without  uttering  a 
word,  resumed  the  negotiation  of  the  treaty. 

Having  returned  to  his  tent,  he  sent  for  Caracalla,  and,  in  the 
presence  of  Papinianus  and  Cursor,  his  chief  attendants,  reproached 
him  with  his  heinous  crime.  Then  presenting  him  with  a  drawn 
sword,  he  added  :  "If  the  desire  of  reigning  impels  you  to  imbrue 
your  hands  in  the  blood  of  your  father,  satisfy  your  desire  here, 
rather  than  in  the  sight  of  all,  both  friends  and  enemies."  No  other 
punishment  did  he  inflict  upon  him.  But  neither  the  just  reproaches 
nor  the  paternal  indulgence  of  Severus  produced  any  feeling  of  re- 
morse in  Caracalla.  On  the  contrary,  he  persisted  in  his  detestable 
intention,  and,  besides  requesting  some  of  the  physicians  of  the  court 
to  accelerate  his  father's  death,  diligently  circulated  seditious  princi- 
ples among  the  soldiers;  insinuated,  for  instance,  that  it  was  a  dis- 
graceful thing  to  obey  an  old  man  who  was  infirm,  attacked  with  the 
gout,  and  unfit  to  command  them  any  longer.  Reports  like  these 
produced  a  revolt  in  that  portion  of  the  army,  the  direction  of  which 
his  too  indulgent  father  had  confided  to  him.  Severus,  assembling 
the  legions,  passed  sentence  of -capital  punishment  against  the  ac- 
complices of  his  son,  not  however  against  the  young  prince  himself, 
and  even,  it  appears,  granted  at  this  time  pardon  to  all,  at  their  ear- 
nest entreaties.  Then  addressing  himself  to  them  with  a  loud  voice 
and  a  majestic  air :  "  You  see  now,"  said  he,  "  that  it  is  the  head 
which  governs,  and  not  the  feet." 

Shortly  after,  he  fell  dangerously  sick  in  the  city  of  York,  and  the 
most  painful  reflections  upon  the  atrocious  conduct  of  Caracalla 
preying  upon  his  mind,  he  felt  that  his  days  were  drawing  to  a  close. 
He  then  called  his  two  sons  to  his  bed-side,  and  declared  his  inten- 
tKm  of  leaving  the  empire  to  be  possessed  by  them  both,  exhorting 
them  at  the  same  time  to  mutual  forbearance  and  concord  (an  advice 
which  became  as  fruitless  as  it  was  necessary) ;  he  added  that,  hav- 
ing found  the  state  in  disturbance  and  confusion,  he  left  it  quiet  and 
respected. 

Some  moments  before  expiring,  the  emperor  cried  aloud :  "  I  have 
been  all  things,  and  all  things  are  nothing;  and  I  no  where  found 
solid  content  and  happiness."  Having  ordered  the  urn  which  was 
to  contain  his  ashes  to  be  brought  to  him,  he  addressed  it  in  those 
terms  :  "Thou  wilt  contain  him  for  whom  the  whole  earth  was  too 


A.  D.  aii-22.2.  CARACALLA MACRINUS,  ETC.  77 

little."  In  order  to  terminate  more  speedily  his  acute  and  increasing 
pains,  he  asked,  it  is  said,  for  poison;  but  no  one  being  willing  to 
comply  with  his  desire,  he  took  so  great  a  quantity  of  food  that  he 
was  suffocated.  This  happened  in  his  sixty-sixth  year,  and  about 
the  eighteenth  of  his  reign  (A.  D.  211).  He  left  behind  him  the 
reputation,  not  of  a  good,  but,  in  many  respects,  a  great  monarch, 
and,  next  to  Trajan,  the  most  warlike  of  the  Roman  emperors. 
Such  was  the  natural  activity  of  his  mind,  that,  even  at  the  last 
moment  of  his  life,  he  was  asking  whether  there  was  any  thing  to 
be  done, 

Making  due  allowance  for  the  peculiarities  necessarily  occasioned 
by  the  difference  of  time,  place  and  other  circumstances,  there  is  not 
perhaps,  in  all  history,  a  single  prince  who  so  strikingly  resembles 
the  great  conqueror  of  our  own  age,  Napoleon  Bonaparte.  Not  that 
Napoleon  was  so  revengeful  and  inexorable  as  Severus ;  but  we  see  in 
both  the  same  active  and  warlike  genius;  the  same  boldness  in  un- 
dertaking, and  quickness  in  executing;  the  same  talents  and  firmness 
in  government;  the  same  ardor  for  the  advancement  of  their  families; 
and,  in  fine,  the  same  indifference  for  the  lives  of  other  men,  when 
their  own  interest  and  ambitious  views  were  to  be  promoted. 


CARACALLA— MACRINUS-HELIOGABALUS.— A.  D.  211.— 222 

THE  death  of  Severus  would  have  caused  little  or  no  regret,  had  he 
not  been  succeeded  by  so  great  a  monster  as  his  son  Caracalla,  whose 
name  was  derived  from  a  Gallic  vestment  which  he  was  fond  of 
wearing.  He  commenced  his  reign  by  the  murder  of  his  brother 
Geta,  and  continued,  for  six  years,  through  such  a  course  of  de- 
baucheries, cruelties  and  rapines,  which  Europe,  Syria,  and  Egypt 
successively  witnessed,  as  fully  to  deserve  the  name  of  second  Cali- 
gula, which  is  given  him  by  some  historians.  He  was  murdered  at 
the  age  of  twenty-nine  years,  by  Martialis,  a  centurion,  whom  he  had 
offended  by  an  act  of  injustice;  but  the  chief,  though  secret  leader  of 
the  plot,  was  Macrinus,  the  commander  of  the  imperial  guards, 
whom  the  cruel  emperor  had  frequently  threatened  with  death.  This 
revolution  happened  in  the  year  217,  and  was  quickly  followed  by 
another. 

Macrinus  experienced  little  difficulty  in  obtaining  the  place  of  Cara- 
calla; but  he  did  not,  by  his  government,  conciliate  the  affection  and 
esteem  of  the  people :  on  the  contrary,  he  drew  upon  himself  the 
contempt  of  the  troops,  by  concluding  a  disgraceful  peace  with  the 
Parthian  king,  and  earned  their  hatred,  by  refusing  them  the  favors 
7* 


78  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Parti. 


which  they  required.  A  new  revolt  broke  out  in  favor  of  young 
Bassianus,  otherwise  called  Heliogabalus  (from  his  being  a  priest  of 
the  sun),  who  now  claimed  the  sceptre  as  being  a  relation,  by  his 
mother,  to  the  Severian  family.  Both  parties  had  recourse  to  arms, 
and  an  engagement  took  place,  which  proved  fatal  to  Macrinus :  he 
was  defeated,  overtaken  in  his  flight  by  the  conquerors,  and  deprived 
not  only  of  the  empire,  but  also  of  his  life,  after  a  reign  of  only  four- 
teen months  (A.  D.  218). 

All  the  worst  tyrants  hitherto  mentioned  seemed  to  revive  in  the 
person  of  Heliogabalus.  Never  was  there  a  more  effeminate  and  des- 
picable, a  more  dissolute  and  wicked  prince.  Every  day  added  to 
his  extravagances,  and  increased  the  public  indignation.  Sensible  of 
the  danger  to  which  he  was  exposed,  and  unwilling  to  receive  death 
from  any  other  hands  than  his  own,  he  prepared  silken  strings  and 
golden  swords,  for  the  purpose  of  either  strangling  himself  or  cutting 
his  throat,  if  necessary.  Moreover,  a  tower  was  built  for  him,  sur- 
rounded by  a  pavement  of  precious  stones,  in  order  that,  should  he  be 
obliged  to  precipitate  himself  from  the  top,  he  might  at  least  have 
his  head  and  limbs  bruised  in  a  splendid  manner. 

All  these  silly  precautions  proved  useless.  Heliogabalus  wns  slain 
in  a  privy  by  the  soldiers,  and  the  multitude  seizing  upon  his  body, 
dragged  it  through  the  streets  of  Rome,  and  threw  it  into  the  Tiber 
(A.  D.  222).  He  had  reigned  nearly  four  years,  and  was  succeeded 
by  his  cousin  Alexander  Severus,  whose  reign  presents  a  spectacle  as 
pleasing  as  that  of  his  predecessor  was  execrable. 


ALEXANDER  SEVERUS.— A.  r.  222—235. 


A  NATURAL  inclination  to  virtue,  fostered  by  an  excellent  education, 
rendered  Alexander  Severus  one,  of  the  most  amiable  and  accom- 
plished princes  mentioned  in  the  annals  of  the  world.  Justice,  good- 
ness and  generosity  were  his  favorite  virtues.  He  often  repeated  this 
maxim,  which  he  had  learned  from  the  Christians :  do  to  all  men,  as 
you  would  have  all  men  do  to  you;  he  caused  it  to  be  engraved  on  the 
walls  of  his  palace,  and  made  it  the  rule  of  his  conduct.  He  also 
frequently  paid  religious  homage  to  our  Saviour,  whose  image  he  kept 
in  a  sort  of  chapel,  together  with  those  of  Abraham,  Orpheus,  and 
other  signal  benefactors  of  humanity.  This  is  indeed  a  singular  col- 
lection of  names;  but  the  fact  serves  at  least  to  show  the  happy  in- 
clination of  that  prince  to  honor  virtue,  wherever  he  found  it  sincere 
and  active. 


A.  D,  222—235. 


ALEXANDER   SEVERUS.  79 


Although  Alexander  was  scarcely  fourteen  years  old,  when  the 
sovereign  power  devolved  upon  him;  his  administration  was  truly  ad- 
mirable, almost  from  the  beginning.  For  this  he  was  partly  indebted 
to  the  prudence  of  his  mother  Mammasa,  and  to  a  numerous  counsel 
composed,  by  her  care,  of  the  most  virtuous  senators,  the  best  officers 
in  the  army,  and  the  ablest  jurisconsults  in  the  state.  Aided  by  such 
counsellors,  and  urged  on  by  his  own  excellent  dispositions,  Alexan- 
der commenced  a  reign  worthy  of  being  proposed  as  a  model  to  all 
future  sovereigns. 

The  whole  empire  needed  a  thorough  reformation ;  but  innumera- 
ble were  the  difficulties  to  be  encountered  in  the  attempt.  Alexander 
was  not  frightened  by  their  number  and  magnitude,  but  immediately 
set  about  this  great  work  with  vigor.  Besides  degrading  and  dismis- 
sing all  the  iniquitous  judges  and  bad  officers  appointed'  by  Helioga- 
balus,  he  made  an  exact  review  of  all  the  orders  of  the  state,  of  the 
senate,  the  knights,  the  tribes  and  the  armies,  expelling  from  them 
all  bad  and  corrupt  members.  No  guilty  person  was  spared.  Even 
the  crimes  of  those  connected  with  the  emperor  by  the  ties  of  con- 
sanguinity or  friendship,  met  with  condign  punishment;  on  such  oc- 
casions, he  used  to  say  that  the  commonwealth  was  dearer  to  him 
than  his  family. 

No  criminal  did  he  punish  with  greater  severity  than  governors 
who  oppressed  the  people,  and  judges  who  suffered  themselves  to  be 
bribed.  So  great  was  his  abhorrence  of  these  persons,  that,  when 
he  beheld  any  of  them,  he  could  not  restrain  his  indignation,  but 
was  obliged,  as  Lampridius  relates,  to  throw  up  bile;  and  his  fingers, 
by  a  sort  of  natural  impulse,  were  directed  towards  the  face  of  the 
criminal,  as  if  to  tear  out  his  eyes.*  Nor  did  he  stop  at  mere  me- 
naces :  great  severity  was  used,  in  order  to  repress  the  abuse. 

He  treated  with  no  less  rigor  those  who  made  an  improper  use  of 
the  favor  which  they  enjoyed  near  him,  and  betrayed  his  confidence. 
A  certain  man,  called  Vetronius  Turinus,  who  frequently  approached 
the  emperor,  received  from  different  persons  large  sums  of  money, 
under  the  false  pretence  that  the  benefits  of  the  court  were  granted 
through  his  means;  this  conduct  he  called  selling  smoke.  Having 
been  detected  in  this  shameful  proceeding,  Alexander  ordered  that  he 
should  be  tied  to  a  post,  about  which  a  fire  was  made  of  green  wood, 
so  that  the  smoke  might  suffocate  him ;  and  a  herald  cried  out  during 
the  execution:  "The  seller  of  smoke  is  punished  with  smoke." 

An  example  like  this  was  certainly  well  calculated  to  check  the  evil; 
but,  the  more  efficaciously  to  root  it  out,  Alexander  directed  all  his 
attention  to  a  good  choice  of  governors  and  of  magistrates.  None  could 

*  Lamprid.  in  vil.  Jllcxandr.  Sever. 


80  MODERN  HISTORY. 


Part 


obtain  public  employments,  who  had  not  first  merited  his  esteem  and 
that  of  the  people:*  it  was  even  a  maxim  with  him,  that  they  who 
shunned  dignities,  were  the  most  worthy  of  them.  He  highly  approved 
the  custom  used  in  the  Christian  Church,  of  publicly  proclaiming  the 
names  of  those  who  were  to  be  promoted  to  the  priesthood,  in  order 
that  any  objection  against  them  might  be  made  known,  and  seriously 
examined.  Alexander  adopted  this  plan,  declaring  beforehand  the 
names  of  those  whom  he  intended  to  appoint  governors  of  the  pro- 
vinces. But  at  the  same  time,  not  to  excite  against  them  the  fury  of 
envy  and  malice,  he  insisted  that  the  accusations  should  be  of  a  se- 
rious nature  and  well  proved;  otherwise,  the  accusers  were  punished 
as  vile  calumniators. 

With  equity  and  justice,  the  young  emperor  united  admirable  cle- 
mency. Being  well  informed  that  a  senator  of  illustrious  birth, 
named  Ovinius  Camillus,  had  set  on  foot  a  plot  to  raise  himself  to 
the  sovereign  power,  Alexander  sent  for  him,  thanked  him  for  his 
willingness  to  share  the  troubles  annexed  to  the  crown,  and  began  to 
treat  him  as  his  colleague.  At  that  time,  a  military  expedition  was 
to  be  made  against  some  barbarians  who  had  revolted.  Alexander 
offered  the  command  to  Camillus,  and,  on  his  refusal,  with  prudent 
generosity  invited  him  to  partake  at  least  in  the  glory  of  the  cam- 
paign. They  started  together  on  foot.  Camillus,  being  soon  tired, 
was  advised  by  the  emperor  to  take  a  horse  for  the  rest  of  the  jour- 
ney, and  afterwards  to  make  use  of  a  carriage.  These  proceedings, 
so  flattering  in  appearance,  mortified  him  so  much,  that  he  abdicated 
his  honors,  and  hastily  returned  to  his  country  seat,  where  Alexan- 
der permitted  him.  to  live  unmolested. 

In  the  conduct  of  this  prince  with  regard  to  the  troops,  prudence 
and  firmness,  kindness  and  severity  were  admirably  blended.  He 
kept  them  under  strict  discipline,  marched  at  their  head,  used  the 
same  food  and  clothing  as  themselves.  However,  whilst  he  required 
of  them  an  exact  performance  of  their  duties,  he  was  affable  to  all, 
and  paid  particular  attention  that  they  should  not  want  any  thing, 
especially  in  time  of  sickness. 

By  these  means,  Alexander  won  the  unbounded  affection  of  the 
soldiers,  who  considered  him  as  their  father  and  brother,  and  ob- 

*  Among  the  virtuous  men  in  whom  Alexander  chiefly  reposed  his  con- 
fidence, must  be  reckoned  the  celebrated  historian  Dion  Cassius,  a  native 
of  Nice  in  Bithynia,  and  well  known  at  Rome  for  his  manifold  merits, 
which  had  raised  him  under  the  preceding  emperors,  to  various  offices  of  state, 
even  to  the  consulship.  By  Alexander  Severus  he  was  entrusted  with  the 
government  of  many  important  provinces,  and  appointed  consul  a  second 
time.  After  having  travelled,  and  collected  documents  during  ten  years,  he 
wrote  a  complete  Roman  History  in  eighty  books,  many  of  which  are  en- 
tirely lost,  whilst  many  others  are  extant  only  in  extracts  and  abbreviations 


A.  D.  022-235. 


ALEXANDER    SEVERUS.  81 


tained  a  surprising  influence  among  them,  notwithstanding  his  youth. 
Once  particularly,  being  surrounded  with  discontented  legionary  sol- 
diers who  expressed  their  displeasure  on  account  of  a  punishment 
inflicted  on  some  of  their  number,  he  endeavored  first  to  appease 
their  murmurs  by  exhortations  and  menaces.  As  they  persisted  in 
their  clamors,  Alexander  said  to  them,  with  a  tone  of  indignation  : 
"Citizens,  retire,  and  leave  your  arms."  The  astounded  legion  laid 
down  their  arms,  took  off  the  military  insignia,  and  retired  in  silence. 
But,  after  having  thus  vindicated  his  authority,  the  emperor,  moved 
by  their  supplications,  received  them  again  into  favor,  and  ever  after 
enjoyed  their  inviolable  fidelity  and  attachment. 

Another  important  object  of  Alexander's  care  was  the  public  trea- 
sury. He  managed  the  revenues  of  the  state  with  so  much  wisdom, 
that  he  was  enabled  to  reduce  the  taxes  imposed  by  Heliogabalus,  in 
the  proportion  of  thirty  to  one;  and  still,  far  from  abolishing  the 
usual  favors  granted  to  the  soldiers  and  the  people,  he,  on  the  con- 
trary, seemed  continually  occupied  in  bestowing  benefits.  Liberality 
regulated  by  prudence  formed  one  of  the  most  remarkable  features  in 
his  character.  He  took  particular  pleasure  in  giving  to  the  poor, 
especially  to  those  who,  having  a  certain  rank  to  support,  were  des- 
titute of  the  means  of  so  doing,  and  had  not  fallen  into  distress 
through  their  own  fault.  In  a  word,  history  bears  him  the  glorious 
testimony,  that  he  never  suffered  a  day  to  pass  without  performing 
some  act  of  humanity. 

It  should  not  then  appear  astonishing,  that  the  veneration  and  love 
of  the  Romans  for  Alexander  was  carried  to  a  sort  of  enthusiasm. 
Whenever  he  had  to  depart  from  Rome  on  some  distant  expedition, 
he  was  accompanied  to  a  distance  by  the  whole  senate  and  all  the 
people,  who  manifested  by  abundant  tears,  their  affection  for  so  good 
a  prince  and  their  grief  for  his  departure ,  he  himself  mingling  his 
tears  with  theirs.  When  he  returned,  he  could  scarcely  advance 
through  the  streets,  on  account  of  the  immense  multitude  of  people 
that  surrounded  him  and  cried  aloud,  with  transports  of  joy :  "Rome 
is  happy,  since  she  sees  Alexander  alive." 

The  chief  occasion  that  made  him  leave  the  capital  for  a  time,  wns 
an  important  event  which  had  just  happened  in  the  East.  By  a  sud- 
den revolution,  the  Parthian  empire,  which  civil  feuds  had  previously 
weakened,  fell,  after  a  duration  of  four  hundred  and  fifty  years,  and 
the  ancient  Persian  monarchy  was  re-established  by  a  certain  Artax- 
erxes,  son  of  Sassan,  and  first  king  of  the  dynasty  of  the  Sassanides 
(A.  D.  226).  This  great  change  was  of  no  advantage  to  the  Romans, 
as  the  Persians  gave  them,  for  many  centuries,  as  much  trouble  at 
least,  as  the  Parthians  had  done  before.  In  the  very  beginning  of 
their  new  monarchy,  they  attacked  Mesopotamia  and  Syria  with  an 


82  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Pan 


army  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  horse,  and  seven  hundred 
elephants  carrying  wooden  towers,  each  containing  many  archers. 
However,  formidable  as  they  were,  the  Persians  could  not  resist  the 
intrepidity  of  the  Roman  legions  commanded  by  their  emperor  in 
person ;  and,  after  suffering  considerable  loss,  they  were  compelled 
to  retire.  This  is  the  most  probable  account  given  of  that  expedition, 
which  was  no  sooner  over,  than  Alexander,  upon  information  of  the 
disturbances  excited  by  the  Germans  in  the  West,  speedily  returned 
to  Rome,  where  he  received  the  honors  of  a  splendid  triumph. 

At  his  departure  from  the  East,  he  left  a  sufficient  number  of  troops 
to  prevent  or  repel  any  subsequent  invasions  of  the  enemy.  These 
and  other  troops  employed  by  Alexander  in  the  Persian  war,  were 
not  only  brave  in  the  field,  but  likewise  so  well  trained  by  good  dis- 
cipline, that  in  their  marches  and  in  their  whole  deportment  they  ra- 
ther resembled  so  many  bodies  of  grave  senators  :  hence  every  one 
highly  extolled  this  excellent  prince,  for  the  great  benefits  which  he 
conferred  both  on  the  armies  and  the  subjects  of  the  empire. 

Far  more  difficult,  and  terribly  fatal  in  the  result,  was  the  attempt 
to  establish  the  same  good  order  among  the  legions  of  Gaul  and  Ger- 
many. Alexander  had  now  repaired  to  those  countries,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  driving  back  the  Germans  beyond  the  Rhine,  Accustomed 
as  some  jf  these  legions  were  to  disorder  and  licentiousness,  they 
could  not  bear  the  idea  of  being  subjected  to  the  yoke  of  strict  dis- 
cipline. Wherefore,  by  the  secret  direction  of  Maximin,  one  of  their 
generals,  they  attacked  the  ^oung  emperor  in  his  tent;  whilst  he, 
perceiving  that  all  resistance  would  be  useless,  covered  his  face  with 
his  cloak,  and  yielded  himself  an  easy  victim  (A.  D.  235). 

Alexander  lived  nearly  twenty-seven  years,  and  reigned  thirteen: 
a  prince,  equal,  if  not  superior,  to  the  most  renowned  among  the  Ro- 
man emperors.  Trajan,  Marcus-Aurelius,  and  some  few  others,  per- 
formed perhaps  greater  exploits,  or  were  more  successful  in  some  re- 
spects: but  we  should  remember  that  they  had  reached  a  more  mature 
age,  when  they  mounted  the  throne,  than  Alexander  when  he  was 
precipitated  from  it.  No  greater  misfortune  could  have  befallen  the 
empire,  than  his  premature  death :  it  was  followed,  during  fifty  years, 
by  so  mariy  treasons,  civil  wars  and  other  calamities,  that  the  third 
century  has  derived  from  them  the  name  of  iron-age.  Of  the  many 
emperors  who  reigned  in  that  period  until  Diocletian,  scarcely  one 
escaped  a  violent  death.  As  they  were  generally  raised  to  the  throne 
by  the  arbitrary  choice  of  the  soldiery,  we  will  comprise  most  of 
them  under  the  head  of  Military  Usurpers. 


A.  p.  235-268.  MILITARY    USURPERS.  83 

MILITARY- USURPERS.— A.  D.  235—268. 

As  it  was  not  known,  at  the  time  of  Alexander's  death,  that  Maxi- 
min  had  been  its  chief  promoter,  the  whole  army,  through  esteem 
for  his  natural  bravery,  saluted  him  emperor..  He  was  of  Gothic 
extraction,  a  native  of  Thrace,  and  had  been  a  shepherd  before  enlist- 
ing among  the  Roman  troops.  He  possessed  an  enormous  size,  be- 
ing, we  are  told,  about  nine  feet  high,  and  stout  in  proportion :  nor 
was  his  strength  less  astonishing  than  his  stature.  He  could,  without 
assistance,  move  a  wagon  heavily  laden,  and  with  a  blow  of  his  fist 
break  the  teeth  or  leg  of  a  horse.  Hence  he  was  compared  with 
Milo  the  Crotonian,  Hercules,  and  Antaeus,  those  prodigies  of  strength 
in  pagan  antiquity  ;  like  them  also  he  was  an  extraordinary  eater  and 
drinker,  requiring,  it  is  said,  forty  pounds  of  meat  and.  seven  gallons 
of  wine  for  his  daily  allowance. 

This  great  bulk  of  body  was  accompanied  in  Maximin  with  that 
brutality  which  is  its  almost  necessary  appendage  in  an  uncultivated 
mind.  He  was,  it  is  true,  an  excellent  warrior,  and  gained  many 
bloody  victories  over  the  Germans;  but  we  may  say  without  exag- 
geration that  he  shed  still  more  blood  throughout  the  empire,  by  per- 
secuting the  Christians,  whom  his  predecessor  had  on  the  contrary 
favored,  and  by  putting  to  death  numbers  of  persons,  who  either 
knew  the  meanness  of  his  extraction,  or  by  their  eminent  merits  ex- 
cited his  jealousy  and  fears.  The  people  also  suffered  very  much 
from  his  rapine  and  extortions. 

Having,  by  so  many  acts  of  tyranny,  provoked  universal  hatred, 
Maximin  was  murdered  by  his  own  troops,  near  Aquileia,  after  a 
reign  of  three  years  (A.  D.  238).  Four  competitors,  whom  the  senate 
had  opposed  to  him,  viz.,  the  two  Gordians  in  Africa,  and  Maximus 
with  Balbinus  in  Rome,  also  perished  about  the  same  time,  by  the 
fury  of  the  soldiery. 

After  them,  Gordian  the  younger  or  the  third,  reigned  six  years. 
His  youth  and  virtuous  inclinations,  his  prosperous  government,  and 
great  victories  over  the  Persians,  made  him  a  living  copy  of  Alexander 
Severus.  He  resembled  him  likewise  in  his  death,  being  murdered 
by  the  orders  of  Philip,  the  prefect  of  his  guards  (A.  D.  244). 

Philip  reigned  five  years,  after  which  he  was  slain  in  battle,  whilst 
endeavoring  to  repress  the  revolt  of  Decius,  one  of  his  generals  (A.  D. 
249).  He  governed  with  prudence  and  courage  the  empire  that 
he  had  acquired  by  crime,  and  was  favorable  to  the  Christians. 

Decius  was  on  the  contrary  one  of  the  most  cruel  enemies  of 
Christianity,  and  the  seventh  general  persecution,  of  which  he  was 


84  MODERN  HISTORY. 


I'ar'  I 


the  author,  made  an  incredible  number  of  martyrs.  Nothing  else  of 
great  importance  is  known  concerning  this  emperor,  except  that, 
having  undertaken  a  war  against  the  Goths,  which  was  at  first  sue 
cessful,  he  afterwards  rashly  entangled  himself  in  marshy  places, 
was  entirely  defeated,  and  perished  with  his  son  and  nearly  his  whole 
army  (A.  D.  251). 

Gallus,  a  Roman  general,  whose  treacherous  advice  was  probably 
the  cause  of  this  disaster,  remained  in  possession  of  the  sovereign 
power,  but  kept  it  only  one  year  and  a  half.  He  carried  on  the  per- 
secution commenced  by  Decius,  and,  like  him,  miserably  perished. 
^Emilian,  wrho  succeeded  him,  was  put  to  death  by  his  own  troops, 
alter  a  still  shorter  reign  of  four  months  (A.  D.  253.) 

The  imperial  dignity  was  now,  by  the  unanimous  consent  of  all  the 
orders  of  the  state,  conferred  on  Valerian,  a  venerable  senator,  who 
had  greatly  distinguished  himself  in  inferior  employments.  He  con- 
tinued to  evince  great  prudence  in  common  and  easy  affairs ;  but  for 
matters  of  importance,  his  talents  and  mind  proved  inadequate:  in  the 
seventh  year  of  his  reign  he  suffered  a  signal  defeat  from  the  Persians, 
and  owing  to  his  own  imprudence,  was  taken  prisoner  (A.  D.  260). 
King  Sapor  treated  him  with  the  utmost  indignity.  When  he  wished 
to  get  on  horseback  or  to  enter  his  chariot,  he  forced  the  unhappy 
emperor  to  bend  his  body  and  present  his  neck  as  a  stirrup.  "Whilst 
riding,  he  compelled  him  to  run  by  his  side,  though  loaded  with 
chains.  In  fine,  after  several  years  of  the  most  ignominious  and 
cruel  captivity,  Valerian  was  not  only  put  to  death,  but  also  flayed, 
and  his  skin,  painted  red,  was  suspended  in  a  Persian  temple,  to 
serve  as  a  lasting  monument  of  the  disgrace  of  the  Romans. 

The  heathens  wondered  at  the  dreadful  fate  of  Valerian;  but  the 
Christians  easily  perceived  in  it  the  hand  of  God  falling  heavily  upon 
a  prince  who,  contrary  to  his  own  judgment  and  inclination,  had 
cruelly  persecuted  them.  For,  although  he  knew  their  fidelity,  and 
was  naturally  good  and  moderate,  superstition  and  evil  advice  in- 
duced him  to  command  the  eighth  general  persecution.  It  lasted 
three  years  and  a  half,  and  was  extremely  violent,  especially  in  Afri- 
ca, where,  among  others,  St.  Cyprian,  archbishop  of  Carthage,  was 
beheaded ;  and  in  Rome,  where  the  holy  deacon  St.  Lawrence  was 
burnt  by  a  slow  fire.  Ecclesiastical  historians  relate  of  this  illustrious 
martyr,  that,  when  one  side  of  his  body  was  burnt,  he  himself  re- 
quested that  the  other  side  also  should  be  presented  to  the  fire;  and 
adding,  after  a  few  moments,  that  he  was  now  sufficiently  roasted, 
he  calmly  expired  in  the  midst  of  his  horrid  torments. 

Not  Valerian  only,  but  the  whole  empire,  so  obstinately  bent  on 
shedding  the  blood  of  the  Christians,  had  to  undergo  the  punish- 
ments inflicted  by  divine  justice.  Both  the  capital  and  the  provinces 


A.  D.  268—270. 


CLAUDIUS    II.  85 


were  visited  by  calamities  of  every  description.  Within  the  space 
of  a  few  years,  not  fewer  than  twenty  pretenders*  were  seen  exert- 
ing themselves  to  obtain  possession  of  the  sovereign  power.  The 
frontiers  were  attacked  and  the  Roman  territories  invaded  by  the  Per- 
sians, the  Sarmatians,  the  Germans,  the  Goths  and  other  barbarians. 
In  fine,  earthquakes,  famine  and  pestilence  made  frightful  ravages 
from  one  extremity  of  the  empire  to  the  other,  and  particularly  in 
Rome,  where  the  plague  sometimes  carried  off  five  thousand  persons 
in  one  day.  These  various  calamities  happened  under  the  reign  of 
Gallienus,  an  indolent  and  unworthy  prince,  who  was  killed  by  some 
of  his  officers  (A.  D.  268). 

So  many  disasters  seemed  to  indicate  the  approaching  downfall  of 
the  empire;  but  it  was  saved  from  destruction,  and  even  restored  to 
its  ancient  splendor,  by  a  long  series  of  great  emperors,  the  first  of 
whom,  according  to  the  order  of  time,  was 


CLAUDIUS  II.— A.  D.  268—270. 


A  HAPPY  union  of  moral,  civil  and  military  acquirements,  raised 
Claudius  II  to  an  equality  of  merit  with  Trajan.  He  incurred,  it  is 
true,  the  guilt  of  sharing  in  the  murder  of  his  predecessor;  but  after- 
wards, nothing  appeared  in  him  but  love  of  justice,  true  patriotism 
and  heroic  magnanimity.  Notwithstanding  the  shortness  of  his 
reign,  he  displayed  these  princely  virtues  on  several  occasions,  and, 
when  circumstances  required,  he  did  not  hesitate  to  practise  them 
against  his  own  interest.  Thus,  when  a  woman  came  to  complain 
of  the  wrong  she  had  formerly  suffered  from  a  certain  officer  named 
Claudius,  the  emperor,  understanding  that  the  allusion  was  to  him- 
self, did  not  take  offence  at  the  boldness  of  the  complaint,  but  pre- 
sently repaired  the  wrong,  and,  by  so  doing,  evinced  his  readiness  to 
sacrifice  every  selfish  feeling  to  the  rule  of  equity. 

*  The  common  opinion  says  thirty,  but  it  is  contradicted  by  facts  and  by 
fair  calculation :  not  more  than  eighteen  or  twenty  of  these  pretenders  can 
be  found  in  the  exact  enumeration  of  them  given  by  the  most  accurate  his- 
torians, viz.,  Tillemont,  vol.  m.,  note  1  on  Gallienus;  Cre*vier,  Hist,  des 
Emp.  Rom.  vol.  x.,  p.p.355  and  441.  It  must  also  be  observed  that  the  name 
tyrant  by  which  they  are  commonly  designated,  is  not  in  its  usual  accep- 
tation, equally  applicable  to  all;  several  of  them  bavins;  been  highly  com- 
mendable for  their  endowments  and-  moral  virtues.  This  name,  as  here 
used,  was  applied  to  men  who,  having  assumed  the  title  and  power  of 
emperors,  died  without  being  acknowledged  as  such  in  Koine  and  by  the 
senate. 
8 


86  MODERN    HISTORY. 


P2n 


This  excellent  prince  reigned  just  long  enough  to  destroy  a  hostile 
fleet  of  two  thousand  sail,  and  an  army  of  three  hundred  and  twenty 
thousand  Goths  who  had  invaded  Macedonia.  He  attacked  them 
first  near  Na'issus,  in  a  battle  which  lasted  long  and  was  obstinately 
disputed.  The  Romans  gave  way  in  several  places  ;  but  at  length, 
a  detachment  of  their  troops  going  round  by  roads  which  seemed  im- 
passable, fell  upon  the  rear  and  ilanks  of  their  enemies  :  this  unex- 
pected attack  decided  the  victory,  and  the  Goths  were  forced  to  re- 
treat, after  having  lost  fifty  thousand  men.  They  rallied  however 
their  shattered  forces,  and  hazarded  a  new  battle,  which  proved  as 
disastrous  as  the  former.  Those  who  escaped,  were  closely  pursued 
by  Claudius  ;  yet  such  was  the  fierceness  and  valor  of  the  barbarians, 
that,  even  in  the  deplorable  condition  to  which  their  army  was  now 
reduced,  they  once  more  rallied,  and  rendered  doubtful  the  event  of 
the  battle.  Falling  with  desperate  courage  upon  the  Roman  infan- 
try, they  threw  it  into  confusion,  cut  part  of  it  into  pieces,  and 
would  probably  have  completed  its  destruction,  if  the  horse  of  Clau- 
dius, wheeling  round,  had  not  compelled  their  wearied  troops  to  retire. 
The  sad  remnant  took  refuge  in  the  passes  of  mount  Hoemus,  and 
fell  victims  to  famine  and  disease. 

In  the  meanwhile,  the  Gothic  fleet,  after  scouring  the  seas,  re- 
turned loaded  with  booty  to  Macedonia,  in  order  to  rejoin  the  land 
army.  But  that  army  was  already  dispersed,  and  the  arrival  of  the  sea- 
soldiers  at  that  fatal  shore,  served  only  to  increase  the  disasters  of  their 
nation.  The  ships,  being  deprived  of  their  defenders,  were  easily 
destroyed  ;  and  the  men,  unable  to  penetrate  into  a  country  in  which 
every  thing  opposed  them,  found  themselves  compelled  to  disband 
and  take  different  directions.  Mast  of  them  were  slain,  or  carried 
off  by  distempers;  so  that  of  this  incredible  multitude  of  barbarians, 
only  a  few  stragglers  escaped. 

After  this  exploit,  one  of  the  greatest  ever  performed  by  any  Ro- 
man general  or  emperor,  Claudius  was  attacked  by  the  plague  which 
had  broken  out  among  his  troops,  and  died  at  Syrmium  in  Pannonia 
(A.  D.  270).  His  death  caused  inexpressible  grief  among  the  people, 
as  well  "as  in  the  army.  No  sooner  had  he  expired  than  the  legions 
of  Illyria  chose  as  his  successor,  Aurelian,  one  of  his  bravest  gene- 
rals, who  immediately  went  to  Rome  to  take  possession  of  the  sove- 
reign authority. 


A.  D.  270-275.  AURELIAN.  87 


AURELIAN.— A.  D.  270—275. 

THE  military  feats  of  Aurelian  had  been  great  before,  they  were 
still  more  conspicuous  after  his  accession  to  the  throne.  He  began 
by  checking  the  inroads  of  numerous  hordes  of  Germans,  Vandals 
and  other  barbarians,  who  had  advanced  so  far  as  to  invade  Italy  it- 
self j  then  after  a  short  stay  in  the  capital,  he  departed  for  the  East, 
where  the  state  of  affairs  demanded  all  his  attention. 

A  powerful  monarchy  had  been  recently  founded  there  by  the  illus- 
trious queen  Zenobia,  a  woman  of  distinguished  abilities.  Naturally 
possessed  of  great  talents,  she  improved  them  by  study  and  applica- 
tion ;  became  perfectly  acquainted  with  history,  on  which  she  herself 
wrote  a  book;  and  besides  the  Syriac,  her  native  tongue,  knew  also 
the  Egyptian,  Greek  and  Latin  languages,  which  she  had  learned  at 
the  school  of  the  celebrated  rhetorician  Longinus.  After  the  death  of 
her  husband  Odenat,  prince  of  Palmyra,  who  had  been  a  constant 
friend  and  useful  ally  to  the  Romans,  Zenobi-a  took  advantage  of  the 
many  calamities  of  the  empire,  to  invade  its  fairest  provinces  in  Asia 
and  Africa,  and  having  formed  to  herself  an  extensive  monarchy,  she 
maintained  her  independence  for  five  or  six  years  with  great  honor 
and  success. 

It  was  against  this  princess  that  Aurelian  now  directed  all  his  efforts ; 
one  year  was  sufficient  for  him  to  put  an  end  to  her  prosperity,  not- 
withstanding the  many  obstacles  that  he  had  to  surmount.  On  his 
way  from  Rome  to  the  East,  he  was  obliged  to  fight  against  numerous 
bodies  of  barbarians  who  pillaged  the  country ;  his  progress  was  also 
arrested  in  Asia  Minor  by  some  towns,  which  sided  with  Zenobia; 
Tyana,  in  particular,  seemed  disposed  to  offer  a  vigorous  resistance. 
Aurelian,  exasperated  at  this  hindrance,  swore  in  his  anger  that  he 
would  not  leave  a  dog  alive  in  that  audacious  town;  a  resolution 
highly  pleasing  to  the  soldiers,  who  rejoiced  beforehand  in  the  hope 
of  obtaining  great  booty.  After  the  city  was  taken,  the  troops  en- 
treated Aurelian  to  keep  his  oath.  "I  have  sworn,"  replied  he,  "not 
to  leave  a  dog  alive  in  Tyana:  kill,  then,  if  you  will,  all  the  dogs, 
but  I  forbid  you  to  do  any  harm  to  the  inhabitants."  This  generous 
answer,  though  it  disappointed  cupidity,  obtained  universal  applause. 

In  the  meanwhile,  Zenobia,  with  numerous  troops,  had  come  for- 
ward to  oppose  the  further  progress  of  Aurelian.  After  two  actions 
which  took  place  near  Antioch,  and  the  result  of  which  was  unfa- 
vorable to  her  cause,  the  two  armies,  amounting  each  to  about 
seventy  thousand  men,  engaged  in  a  general  battle  under  the  walls 
of  Emesa.  At  the  first  onset,  the  Palmyrian  cavalry  gained  a  con- 


88  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Parti 


siderable  advantage  over  that  of  the  Romans:  being  more  numerous, 
and  the  Romans  having  made  a  movement  in  order  to  extend  their 
front  and  prevent  themselves  from  being  surrounded,  the  enemy's 
horse,  which  attacked  them  at  that  very  instant,  easily  broke  their 
disordered  ranks,  and  put  them  to  flight.  But,  yielding  too  much  to 
their  ardor,  the  conquerors  caused  the  rest  of  their  army  to  lose  the 
fruit  of  their  good  fortune,  by  occupying  themselves  exclusively  in 
the  pursuit  of  the  fugitives.  The  Roman  infantry,  whose  strength 
was  invincible,  seeing  the  other  Palmyrian  soldiers  deprived  of  the 
assistance  of  their  cavalry,  made  a  vigorous  attack  upon  them,  and 
put  them  in  disorder.  The  cavalry  of  the  Romans,  reanimated  by 
the  success  of  this  attack,  rallied  and  enabled  Aurelian  to- gain  a  de- 
cisive victory. 

The  enemy  had  suffered  considerable  loss.  Zenobia,  unable  to 
keep  the  field  any  longer,  shut  herself  up  in  Palmyra,  her  capital, 
where  she  was  soon  besieged  by  the  Romans.  Palmyra,  a  town  fa- 
mous in  antiquity,  had  been  founded  by  Solomon,*  and  had  gra- 
dually increased  in  prosperity  and  wealth,  till,  under  OJenat  and 
Zenobia,  it  reached  a  surprising  degree  of  splendor,  as  its  magnificent 
remains  still  testify.  The  situation  of  that  city  in  the  deserts  of  Sy- 
ria, between  the  Roman  and  Persian  dominions,  rendered  it  a  very 
important  place;  the  more  so,  as  it  was  well  fortified,  and  abundant- 
ly supplied  with  troops,  arms  and  engines  of  war. 

By  these  means  of  defence,  Zenobia  sustained  the  siege  with  a 
courage  proportioned  to  the  vigor  of  the  attack,  so  as  to  excite 
the  admiration  of  Aurelian  himself.  "  Truly  incredible,"  he  said  in 
a  letter  which  he  then  wrote,  (t  is  the  quantity  of  darts  and  stones 
which  she  pours  upon  us;  she  does  not  leave  us  one  moment  of 
rest,  day  or  night."  Unhappily  for  the  besieged,  bodies  of  auxiliary 
troops  upon  which  they  relied  for  assistance,  were  defeated  by  Aure- 
lian, and  provisions  began  to  fail  in  the  town.  In  this  extremity,  the 
queen  set  out  during  the  night,  to  go  and  implore  the  aid  of  the  Per- 
sians. But  the  emperor,  being  informed  of  her  escape,  sent  a  de- 
tachment of  cavalry,  which  overtook  her,  and  made  her  prisoner  as 
she  was  about  to  cross  the  Euphrates.  She  was  immediately  con- 
ducted to  Aurelian,  and  appeared  before  him  with  an  undaunted  air; 
to  his  question,  why  she  had  been  so  bold  as  to  oppose  the  emperors 
of  Rome,  this  witty  and  skilful  princess  answered;  "You  I  consider 
as  a  real  emperor;  but  Gallienus  and  such  as  resembled  him,  I  never 
thought  worthy  of  that  title,  nor  could  I  see  any  reason  why  I  should 
not  maintain  my  power  against  them,  and  refuse  to  submit  to  their 
control." 

*  II  Paralip.  viu,  4. 


A.  0.  270—275. 


AURELIAN.  89 


On  the  news  of  the  capture  of  the  queen,  Palmyra  surrendered, 
and  being  well  and  generously  treated  by  the  conqueror,  appeared  to 
him  a  secure  conquest.  However,  the  submission  of  the  Palmyrians 
lasted  little  longer  than  the  time  of  his  presence  among  them :  after 
his  departure,  they  revolted  and  slaughtered  the  Roman  garrison.  As 
soon  as  the  news  of  this  treacherous  act  reached  the  emperor  on  his 
return  to  Rome,  he  hastened  back  with  his  victorious  troops,  took 
Palmyra  a  second  time,  and  putting  the  inhabitants  to  the  sword, 
reduced  the  town  to  a  state  of  desolation  equal  to  its  former  glory. 
As  for  Zenobia,  she  was  led  to  Rome,  and  obtained  from  her  con- 
queror an  honorable  retreat,  where  she  spent  in  quiet  the  remainder 
of  her  life. 

Besides  the  eastern  provinces,  Aurelian  also  recovered  Gaul  and 
some  other  countries  of  the  West,  which,  from  the  time  of  Gallienus, 
had  been  either  occupied  by  the  barbarians,  or  formed  under  their 
governors  into  separate  states.  Most  of  those  exploits  were  per- 
formed with  surprising  rapidity  (A.  D.  273). 

Having  thus  pacified  the  whole  empire,  and  restored  it  to  its  an- 
cient limits,  Aurelian  applied  himself  to  establish  order  in  every  de- 
partment of  the  public  administration.  He  took  many  excellent 
measures  for  that  purpose ;  but  he  did  not  sufficiently  curb  the  vio- 
lence of  his  temper  which  prompted  him  to  acts  of  cruelty :  this 
inflexible  rigor,  after  causing  the  death  of  many,  became  the  occasion 
of  his  own  ruin.  Suspecting  Mnestheus,  his  secretary,  of  malver- 
sation, he  threatened  him  with  severe  punishment ;  and  it  was  well 
known  that  punishment  usually  followed  his  threats.  Mnestheus, 
who  probably  knew  himself  to  be  guilty,  resolved  to  escape  the  dan- 
ger by  every  means  in  his  power,  even  the  most  unlawful.  For  this 
end,  he  devised  the  following  horrid  plot;  counterfeiting  the  emperor's 
hand-writing,  which  he  had  long  practised,  he  drew  up  a  proscription 
list  of  the  principal  officers  of  the  army,  and  found  means  to  bring  it 
to  their  notice.  The  officers  did  not  suspect  the  forgery.  Alarmed 
at  their  supposed  danger,  they  concerted  together,  and,  during  the 
march  of  the  troops  whom  Aurelian  was  then  leading  against  the 
Persians,  they  fell  upon  him  at  a  moment  when  he  was  accompanied 
by  a  small  guard,  and  despatched  him  with  their  swords,  in  the  fifth 
year  of  his  reign  and  sixty-third  of  his  age.  All  his  murderers  were 
punished,  Mnestheus  first,  and  the  others  sooner  or  later;  and  though 
Aurelian  was  little  regretted  by  several  persons,  the  people  and  the 
army  seemed  to  vie  with  each  other  in  honoring  the  memory  of  a 
prince  who,  notwithstanding  the  short  duration  of  his  govern  in  ent; 
had  rendered  highly  important  services  to  the  empire  (A.  D.  275). 

The  Christians  did  not  at  first  experience  any  particular  rigor  from 
Aurelian;  he  ratJier  seemed  disposed  to  treat  them  according  1o  the 
8* 


90  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Tart  I 


laws  oi  equity,  as  he  did  his  other  subjects.  But  his  feelings  being 
afterwards,  through  human  considerations,  changed  in  their  regard, 
the  ninth  general  persecution  broke  out,  and  though  short,  mado 
many  martyrs. 


INTERREGNUM— TACITUS.— A.  D.  275—276. 


THE  death  of  Aurelian  gave  rise  to  an  event  almost  unexampled  in 
history,  a  protracted  contest  of  mutual  deference  between  the  army 
and  the  senate.  During  the  space  of  six  or  eight  months,  they  seve* 
ral  times  referred  to  each  other  the  election  of  a  sovereign ;  and, 
what  is  still  more  extraordinary,  affairs  remained  perfectly  quiet  all 
that  time. 

At  last  the  senate,  yielding  to  the  wishes  of  the  troops,  named  Taci- 
tus, one  of  its  own  members,  a  man  of  great  wisdom  and  experience, 
and  a  descendant,  so  at  least  he  considered  himself,  of  the  illustrious 
historian  of  the  same  name.  He  accepted  the  dangerous  dignity 
with  a  reluctance  which  appeared  as  unfeigned,  as  it  was  reasonable 
and  just;  for,  notwithstanding  the  equity  of  his  administration  and 
the  success  of  his  exertions  against  the  barbarians,  he  was  after  a 
very  short  reign,  killed  by  a  rebellious  soldiery.  Some  relate  how- 
ever that  he  died  of  a  fever. 


PROBUS.*— A.  D.  276— 2S2. 


THE  legions  of  the  East  now  raised  to  the  throne  their  commander 
Probus,  a  general  of  uncommon  merit,  and  who,  to  genuine  probity 
signified  by  his  name,  joined  a  surprising  courage  and  greatness  of 
soul.  A  prince  of  this  character  was  peculiarly  fitted  for  the  time 
and  circumstances  in  which  he  lived.  The  empire  was  attacked  on 
all  sides  by  the  barbarians :  Probus  defeated  them  all,  and  drove  them 
back  beyond  the  frontiers;  the  Germans  especially  felt  the  invincible 
strength  of  his  arms,  by  the  heavy  losses  which  he  inflicted  on  their 
nation.  In  a  single  campaign,  he  destroyed  four  hundred  thousand 
of  them,  and  those  who  escaped,  were  so  much  intimidated,  that,  for 
several  years,  they  did  not  venture  to  renew  their  incursions. 

*  We  purposely  omit  mentioning  in  the  catalogue  of  Roman  emperors, 
Florianus,  a  brother  of  Tacitus,  who  took  the  purple  and  was  acknowledged 
by  a  considerable  portion  of  the  troops,  but  for  some  weeks  only.  The 
same  had  also  happened,  in  the  beginning  of  the  reign  of  Aurelian,  to  Quin- 
lilltis,  a  brother  of  Claudius  II. 


PROBUS.  91 

Probus  resolved  also  to  check  the  pride  of  the  Persians,  and  march 
ing  into  the  East,  stationed  his  troops  upon  the  mountains  of  Arme- 
nia, from  which  the  enemy's  country  was  seen.  Here  he  received 
ambassadors  from  the  Persian  king  Varanes ;  the  audience  which 
they  obtained,  recalls  to  mind  the  plainness  and  magnanimity  of  the 
Romans  of  ancient  times.  Probus  was  seated  on  the  grass,  and  eat- 
ing his  dinner,  which  consisted  of  old  peas  and  salt  meat,  when  the 
Persian  ambassadors  arrived  in  his  presence.  "I  am,"  said  he  to 
them,  "the  Roman  emperor;  go,  and  tell  your  master,  that  if  he 
does  not,  on  this  very  day,  bind  himself  to  repair  the  damage  which 
he  has  done  to  the  Romans,  he  will  see,  before  the  end  of  the  month, 
every  part  of  his  kingdom  laid  waste,  and  as  bare  as  my  head  is." 
At  the  same  time,  he  took  off  his  cap,  to  let  them  see  his  head  which 
was  entirely  bald.  He  added  that,  if  they  wished  to  eat,  they  were 
welcome  to  a  part  of  his  dinner;  if  not,  they  must  leave  the  camp 
without  delay,  their  commission  being  executed.  The  king  of  Per- 
sia, alarmed  at  this  news,  hastened  in  person  to  the  camp  of  the 
Romans,  and  concluded  the  treaty  on  the  conditions  laid  down  by 
the  emperor. 

Not  long  after  this,  Probus,  to  prevent  the  soldiers  from  remaining 
idle,  made  them  drain  a  marsh  near  Syrmium  in  Pannonia.  They 
revolted,  and  killed  this  most  excellent  emperor,  whose  loss  was  seri- 
ously felt  and  very  justly  regretted  by  the  whole  empire.  For,  among 
all  the  princes  that  ever  sat  upon  the  throne  of  the  Caesars,  it  would 
be  difficult  to  name  one  superior  to  Probus.  Though  always  success- 
ful in  war,  he  had  recourse  to  arms  through  necessity  only,  preferring 
honorable  peace  to  military  glory.  As  moderate  perhaps  as  Marcus- 
Aurelius,  he  was  more  fit  for  w^ir;  as  a  general,  at  least  equal  to 
Aurelian,  he  was  milder  and  more  gentle  in  his  disposition ;  always 
attentive  to  the  happiness  of  his  subjects ;  always  engaged  in  useful 
undertakings,  and  in  endeavoring  to  make  the  labor  of  his  soldiers 
conducive  to  the  advantages  of  peace.  During  his  reign,  a  space  of 
about  six  years,  he  built  or  repaired  seventy  cities,  and  formed  a 
great  number  of  excellent  generals,  several  of  whom  successively  be- 
came emperors  after  him,  viz.,  Cams,  Diocletian,  Maximian-Hercu- 
ies  and  Constantius-Chlorus.  The  empire,  raised  from  its  declining 
state  by  Claudius  II  and  restored  to  its  former  glory  by  Aurelian, 
attained  under  Probus  its  greatest  splendor ;  and,  had  not  the  crime 
of  the  soldiers  shortened  his  days,  he  might  have  revived  the  fortunate 
age  of  Antoninus  or  of  Augustus. 


92  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Part.  I. 


CARUS  AND  HIS  TWO  SONS,  CARINUS  AND  NUMERIAN. 

A.  D.  282— 2S4. 


AFTEII  the  death  of  Probus  in  282,  Cams,  the  commander  of  the 
praetorian  guard,  was  judged  by  the  soldiers  worthy  of  filling  \U3 
place.  He  reigned  sixteen  months,  during  which  he  found  sufficient 
time  to  overthrow  the  Sarmatians  in  a  great  battle,  and,  besides  de- 
feating the  Persians  also  on  different  occasions,  took  some  of  their 
principal  cities,  and  carried  terror  into  the  very  heart  of  their  empire. 
He  intended  to  pursue  his  advantage  further,  but  was  killed,  accor- 
ding to  common  report,  by  a  thunderbolt,  whilst  in  his  tent  near  the 
river  Tigris. 

He  left  two  sons,  Carinus  and  Numenan  ;  the  former,  a  profligate 
and  brutal,  the  latter,  a  gentle  and  learned  prince,  and  so  affectionate 
to  his  father,  that  he  lost  his  sight  by  weeping  for  the  death  of 
Carus.  Both  seemed  to  have  mounted  the  throne  only  to  be  assas- 
sinated ;  Numerian,  by  his  father-in-law,  whilst  he  was  borne  in  a 
litter;  and  Carinus,  during  a  battle,  by  one  of  his  officers. 


DIOCLETIAN  AND  MAXIMIAN; 

AFTERWARDS 

CONSTANTIUS-CHLORUS  AND  GALERIUS.— A.  r>.  284—306. 

DIOCLETIAN  had  no  share  in  the  murder  of  his  predecessors;  but, 
upon  the  unanimous  choice  of  the  army,  he  willingly  occupied  their 
place,  for  which  his  high  office  in  the  army  seemed  to  have  fitted 
him.  Shortly  after  his  accession,  he  associated  to  himself  in  the  go- 
vernment of  the  state,  Maximian,  surnamed  Hercules,  a  greater  war- 
rior than  himself,  though  not  so  skilful  a  politician.  Both  of  them 
sustained,  by  their  victories  against  the  surrounding  barbarians,  the 
majesty  and  reputation  of  the  empire ;  Great  Britain,  however, 
was  severed  from  it  for  ten  years  under  the  skilful  usurper  Carausius 
and  his  successor  Allectus. 

Bitt  the  hostile  tribes  of  Pannonia  and  Germany  seemed  to  be  mul- 
tiplied by  their  defeats,  and  meditated  new  invasions.  In  order  to 
oppose  so  many  enemies  with  greater  facility  arid  success,  it  was 
resolved  by  the  two  emperors,  that  each  one  of  them  should  take  an 
assistant,  with  the  inferior  title  of  Ccesar.  The  choice  of  Maximinn 
fell  on  Constantius-Chlorus,  a  man  still  more  worthy  of  esteem  fot 
his  equity,  wisdom  and  liberality,  than  for  his  noble  extraction  and 
great  ability  in  arms.  He  ruled  with  admirable  prudent  the  \ 


A.  D.  284-396.  DIOCLETIAN,    ETC.  93 

of  the  empire  allotted  to  him,  namely,  Spain,  Gaul  and  Great  Bri- 
tain, which  last  he  reconquered.  The  barbarians  were  repulsed  by 
his  repeated  victories,  and  the  people  enjoyed  great  happiness  under 
his  truly  paternal  government;  in  return,  he  possessed  the  affection 
of  all,  as  the  following  anecdote,  related  by  Eusebius,  testifies.* 

Constantius,  for  fear  of  distressing  his  provinces,  levied  so  few 
taxes,  that  the  treasury  was  empty.  Diocletian,  who  was  of  a  very 
different  disposition,  sent  to  reprove  him  for  his  neglect.  Constantius 
requested  the  deputies  to  remain  for  some  days  with  him,  and  during 
that  interval,  sent  notice  to  the  richest  inhabitants  of  the  provinces,  that 
he  was  in  want  of  money ;  all  hastened  to  bring  their  gold  and  silver  to 
the  treasury,  which  was  soon  filled.  Then  Constantius  requested 
the  deputies  to  examine  the  money,  and  said  to  them  :  "  All  that  you 
see,  has  long  since  been  mine ;  but  I  had  left  it  in  trust  in  the  hands 
of  my  people."  He  then  returned  the  whole  to  the  owners ;  being 
certain  of  obtaining  the  same  assistance,  whenever  he  would  be  in 
want,  and  justly  persuaded  that  the  safest  treasure  of  a  prince  is  the 
love  of  his  subjects. 

The  choice  which  Diocletian  made  of  Galerius  for  his  assistant  In 
the-  East,  was  not  so  happy.  This  Galerius  had  been  a  cow-herd, 
and,  though  he  afterwards  passed  through  the  usual  military  grades, 
he  still  retained  too  much  of  his  origin.  In  his  actions  as  well  as  in 
his  corpulence,  there  was  much  more  to  inspire  aversion  and  terror, 
than  to  conciliate  affection  and  esteem.f  His  only  talent  was  for 
war,  and  even  in  war  he  sometimes  evinced  greater  valor  than  pru- 
dence: being  sent  by  Diocletian  to  oppose  the  Persian  king  Narses, 
who  threatened  Syria  with  an  invasion,  he  imprudently  risked  a  bat- 
tle with  a  small  number  of  troops,  and  was  conquered.  The  em- 
peror, who  liked  nothing  so  much  as  prudence,  was  indignant  at  a 
defeat  caused  by  such  temerity,  and  when  Galerius  returned,  wishing 
to  make  him  feel  his  displeasure,  he  let  him  follow  his  car  a  con- 
siderable way  on  foot,  though  vested  in  purple. 

Galerius,  instead  of  being  discouraged  by  these  affronts,  conceived 
a  most  ardent  desire  of  effacing  the  disgrace  of  his  defeat.  He  suc- 
ceeded beyond  expectation:  with  a  body  of  twenty-five  thousand 
men,  he  attacked  the  Persians  in  their  camp,  killed  twenty  thousand 
of  their  numbers,  and  took  a  great  number  of  prisoners,  with  an  im- 
mense booty.  Narses,  thus  deprived  of  his  army  and  resources  by  a 
single  blow,  sued  for  peace,  which  was  granted  him  upon  the  cession 
of  several  provinces  (A.  r.  297). 

*  Eusebius,  in  vitil  Constant,  lib.  I.  c.  14. 

f  Erat  corpus  moribus  congruens,  status  celsus,  caro  ingens,  et  in  hor- 
rendam  magnitudinem  diffusa  et  inflata.  Denique  et  verbis,  et  actibus.  et  as- 
pectu,  terrori  omnibus ac  formidini  f\iit.—Lactantius,demortepersccut.  n.  ix. 


94  MODERN   HISTORY. 


Part  I, 


If  Galerius  had  been  humbled  by  his  defeat,  he  was  not  less  elated 
with  his  victory:  he  from  that  time  assumed  a  greater  share  of  autho- 
rity in  the  government,  and  chiefly  directed  his  exertions  against  the 
Christian  religion.  His  mother,  a  peevish  woman  and  much  devoted 
to  the  worship  of  her  idols,  had  inspired  him  with  a  mortal  hatred 
against  the  Christians,  and  he  left  nothing  undone  to  prevail  upou 
Diocletian  to  persecute  them  to  death.  The  emperor,  naturally  mo- 
derate, for  a  long  time  rejected  the  cruel  proposal.  Galerius  then  had 
recourse  to  the  calumny  formerly  made  use  of  by  Nero  in  a  similar 
circumstance;  by  secret  orders  and  management,  he  caused  the  im- 
perial palace  at  Nicomedia  to  be  set  on  fire,  laid  the  odious  deed  to 
the  charge  of  the  Christians,  and  the  better  to  show  his  conviction  of 
their  guilt,  ran  away  with  apparent  fright,  saying  that  he  did  not  like 
to  be  burnt  by  those  enemies  of  both  gods  and  emperors. 

At  length  Diocletian  yielded,  and  in  the  year  303,  issued  his  edicts 
for  the  tenth  general  persecution,  the  most  violent  and  bloody  that  the 
Church  ever  suffered.  Racks  and  fires,  boiling  oil  and  melted  lead, 
sharp  stakes  and  burning  pincers,  in  a  word  the  most  acute  and* 
exquisite  torments  were  employed  against  the  worshippers  of  Christ, 
and  in  every  age,  rank  and  state  of  society,  innumerable  were  the 
victims  of  that  frightful  persecution.  A  particular  account  of  its 
enormities  belongs  rather  to  Ecclesiastical  History.  It  suffices  here 
to  say,  with  Lactantius  and  Eusebius,  both  grave,  learned  and  con- 
temporary historians,  that  the  whole  earth,  with  the  exception  of 
Gaul,  was  a  prey  to  the  fury  of  three  wild  beasts,*  and  that  it  is  im- 
possible to  tell  how  many  presented  themselves  in  every  city  and 
country,  as  martyrs  in  the  cause  of  Christ,  f  At  Nicomedia,  where 
the  persecution  commenced,  persons  of  every  description  were  put  to 
death :  on  account  of  their  numbers,  whole  companies  were  burned 
together,  while  others  were  cast  into  the  sea  or  beheaded ;  many 
perished  in  this  manner  with  their  bishop  Anthimus.  At  Tar- 
sus, Alexandria,  Antioch,  in  Mesopotamia,  Pontus,  etc.,  crowds 
of  Christians  were  likewise  tortured  in  different  ways.  In  Thebai's, 
it  frequently  happened,  during  the  course  of  several  years,  that  from 
ten  to  a  hundred  persons  suffered  martyrdom  together  on  the  same 
day.  A  little  before,  in  the  north  of  Italy,  six  thousand  six  hundred 
soldiers,  who  composed  the  Theban  legion,  chose  to  be  butchered 
by  their  companions,  rather  than  renounce  their  faith.  In  Phrygia, 
a  whole  town,  inhabited  entirely  by  Christians,  was  surrounded  by  a 
large  body  of  soldiers,  who  set  fire  to  it,  and  all  the  inhabitants  were 
consumed  in  the  flames,  whilst  invoking  the  name  of  our  Saviour.J 

In  a  word,  such  was  the  rage  of  the  persecutors,  and  such  the 

*  Lactant.  De  Morte  Pers.  n.  xvi.     f  Euseb.  Ecdcs.  Hist,  lib.  viii,  c.  4 
{  See  note  C. 


A.  D.  284-306.  DIOCLETIAN,  ETC.  95 

quantity  of  Christian  blood  spilt  by  them  throughout  the  empire, 
that  they  impiously  boasted  for  a  time  of  having  abolished  Chris- 
tianity. But  they  boasted  in  vain;  the  Church  of  Christ  stood, 
under  the  sword  of  persecution,  as  firm  and  strong  as  ever,  whereas 
dreadful  calamities  began  to  fall  on  its  persecutors. 

Diocletian  had  hitherto  reigned  with  great  glory,  and  with  a 
superiority  of  political  talents  that  conciliated  to  him  the  respect  of  all 
his  associates  in  the  empire ;  but,  in  the  year  304,  he  lost  his  health, 
and  various  misfortunes  harassed  him  and  frequently  disturbed  his 
reason.  In  that  state,  Galerius  advised,  or  rather  compelled  him  by 
threats  to  give  up  the  government,  and  to  quit,  together  with  Maxim- 
ian,  the  imperial  purple.  They  did  so  in  305,  and  were  thus  reduced 
to  the  condition  of  private  citizens;  whilst  Constantius-Chlorus  and 
Galerius  became  emperors,  two  new  Csesars  being  appointed  to  fill 
their  vacant  places. 

After  his  resignation,  Diocletian  retired  to  Salona  in  Dalmatia,  his 
native  country,  where  he  lived  eight  years  longer,  amusing  himself  in 
the  culture  of  a  small  garden;  an  occupation  which  he  began  to  pre- 
fer to  the  honors  of  the  throne.  But  life  became  burdensome  to 
him,  when  he  learned  the  destruction  of  his  statues  and  the  triumph 
of  Christianity  under  Constantine.  Lactantius  relates*  that,  seeing 
himself  despised  and  loaded  with  disgrace,  he  was  in  perpetual  un- 
easiness, and  could  neither  eat  nor  sleep  ;  he  was  heard  to  sigh  and 
groan  continually,  frequently  shed  tears,  and  threw  himself  sometimes 
on  his  bed,  sometimes  on  the  ground.  At  last  excessive  grief  and 
starvation,  and  perhaps  poison,  carried  him  off  in  the  sixty-eighth 
year  of  his  age. 

The  fate  of  Maximian  was  not  less  wretched.  He  attempted  two 
or  three  times,  but  in  vain,  to  resume  the  sovereign  power  which  he 
had  abdicated,  and  even  to  murder  his  son-in-law,  Constantine. 
Being  detected,  he  hanged  himself  in  despair. 

The  justice  of  God,  however,  no  where  appeared  more  visible  than 
in  the  death  of  Galerius,  who  had  been  the  most  cruel  of  these  bar- 
barous persecutors.  He  was  attacked  with  a  frightful  disease;  the 
same  exactly  which,  in  more  ancient  times,  had  afflicted  the  impious 
kings  Antiochus  and  Herod  Agrippa,  for  having  also  waged  war 
against  God  and  his  servants. f  An  ulcer  corroded  and  laid  open  his 
very  bowels.  His  body  became  a  mass  of  corruption,  and  swarmed 
with  vermin :  the  stench  infected,  not  only  his  palace,  but  also  the 
whole  neighbDrhood  in  the  city  of  Sardica,  and  was  intolerable  even 
to  his  own  servants,  as  Eusebius  testifies. :j:  His  pains  were  so  acute, 

*  DC  mort.  pp.rsec.  n.  42.  f  2  Macchab.  ix. — Act.  Apost.  xii. 

|  Eccles.  Hist.  I.  vni.  c.  16. 


96  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Part  L 


as  to  wring  from  him  the  most  agonizing  cries;  nor  could  any  means 
be  devised  to  alleviate  his  sufferings :  the  horrid  distemper  continued 
to  increase  in  violence,  till  at  length  it  put  an  end  to  the  emperor's 
life,  in  the  nineteenth  year  of  his  reign. 

Thus  did  the  persecutors  of  Christianity  disappear  from  the  earth, 
with  the  evident  marks  of  the  wrath  of  God  upon  them.  As  Con- 
stantius-Chlorus  had  not  imitated  their  example,  so  likewise  he  did 
not  share  in  their  disasters.  If  he  could  not  easily  prevent  all  acts  of 
violence  in  the  provinces  which  were  under  his  jurisdiction,  he  him- 
self at  least  never  tormented  the  Christians;  on  the  contrary,  he  al- 
ways manifested  the  most  favorable  dispositions  in  their  regard. 
When  the  bloody  edicts  of  Diocletian  were  brought  to  him,  he  feigned 
at  first  to  be  willing  to  put  them  in  execution :  assembling  the  Chris- 
tians of  his  palace,  he  told  them  that  they  must,  in  compliance  with 
the  imperial  orders,  renounce  either  their  religion,  or  their  employ- 
ments and  dignities.  Some  indeed  were  not  ashamed  to  sacrifice 
spiritual  to  temporal  interest;  but  the  majority  appeared  fully  disposed 
to  lose  every  thing  on  earth  for  conscience'  sake.  Then  Constantius, 
disclosing  his  real  sentiments,  dismissed  the  former  from  his  service, 
saying  that  persons  so  attached  to  their  own  interests,  and  so  treach- 
erous to  their  God,  would  not  be  more  faithful  to  their  prince.  But 
he  kept  near  his  person  those  who  had  continued  firm  in  their  faith, 
declaring  them  worthy  to  be  intrusted  with  the  care  of  his  most  im- 
portant concerns. 

One  thing  gave  him  much  uneasiness,  namely,  the  absence  of  his 
eldest  son,  Constantine,  who  having  been  long  before  sent  to  the 
court  of  Diocletian  as  a  hostage  for  his  father's  fidelity,  was  unjustly 
detained  there  by  Galerius,  and  charged  by  this  wicked  prince  with 
a  thousand  perilous  commissions.  Constantius,  informed  of  these 
continual  dangers  to  which  his  son  was  exposed,  most  urgently  so- 
licited his  return;  to  this,  at  last,  Galerius  pretended  to  consent, 
by  giving  the  young  prince  permission  to  set  out  on  the  following  day 
from  Nicomedia,  yet  resolving  at  the  same  time,  to  find  some  new 
pretext  for  delay.  But  Constantine,  aware  of  the  danger,  started  at 
night  without  the  knowledge  of  the  treacherous  emperor,  and  travelled 
with  the  utmost  haste,  taking  care  to  kill  or  disable  all  the  post-horses 
on  his  road,  to  prevent  the  possibility  of  his  being  overtaken.  The  fol- 
lowing day,  Galerius  was  transported  with  rage  at  the  news  of  his  es- 
cape, and  ordered  that  he  should  be  pursued;  both  his  rage  and  order 
were  equally  abortive:  Constantine  was  already  beyond  the  roach 
of  danger. 

He  joined  his  father  just  in  time  to  close  the  eyes  of  that  excellent 
prince,  who  died  at  York  in  Great  Britain  (A.  i>.  306).  Constantius 
displayed,  in  his  last  moments,  the  same  wisdom  and  pnulonea 


A.  D.  284-306.  DIOCLETIAN,   ETC.  97 

which  had  characterised  his  whole  life.  Instead  of  meeting  with 
any  of  the  catastrophes  which  befel  the  contemporary  princes,  he 
quietly  expired  in  the  midst  of  an  affectionate  family,  having  the  con- 
solation to  leave  behind  him  a  son  perfectly  worthy  of  being  his  suc- 
cessor, and  who  was  moreover  destined  by  Divine  Providence  to  be 
the  first  emperor  that  should  make  an  open  profession  of  Chris- 
tianity, and  give  peace  to  the  Church  after  three  hundred  veare  of 
Bufferings. 


PART    II. 


THE  ACCESSION  or  CONITAKTIKE  (A.  D.  30< 

Or  THE  EOJtAN  EMPIRE  IJf  THE  WEfT  (A.  D.  476) 


CONST ANTINE  THE  GREAT.— A.  D.  306—897. 


POSSESSED  of  an  derated  genius,  heroic  valor,  a  nobie  appear 
ance,  and  a  generous  heart,  Constantine  seemed,  from  the  beginning, 
1  'lalified  to  reign  over  the  universe.    For  some  yean,  however, 
his  authority  was  confined  to  Britain,  Spain  and  Gaul :  the  other 
provinces  were  yet  under  the  sway  of  Galerius  and  his  associates, 
us  and  Maxnnin  II;  to  whom  must  be  added  the  son  of  Max- 
imum-Hercules,  Maxentius,  who  had  made 'himself  master  of  Rome 
and  of  all  Italy. 

Besides  this  partition  of  the  empire,  which  necessarily  weakened 
the  forces  of  each  emperor,  the  dominions  of  Constantine  w< 
most  exposed  to  the  inroads  of  the  German  tribes,  and  particularly 
of  the  Franks.    He  engaged  in  a  long  struggle  against  them,  and  on 
his  part  conducted  it  with  great  vigor  and  severity,  allowing  no 

order  to  force  them  into  submission.    They  were  checked  for 
;  and  when  they  began  to  meditate  new  attacks,  he  sent  against 
them  his  eldest  son  Crispus,  who  gained  a  signal  victory,  and  joyfully 
•  d  through  snow  and  ice  to  offer  his  father  the  homage  of  bis 
first  exploit    The  Franks,  after  this  severe  lesson,  remained 
during  the  whole  reign  of  Constant; 

He  had  now  to  contend  with  more  formidable  enemies.    Max<  n- 
tiiis,  the  tyrant  of  Rome,  a  prince  sullied  with  every  rice  had  de- 
:  his  hostile  designs  against  him,  ana' was  ready  to  support  them 
by  the  force  of  arms,  having  one  hundred  and  eighty-eight  thousand 
warriors  at  his  command.  Constantine  bar]  ilf  that  number, 

and  was  moreover  obliged  to  leave  a  part  of  his  army  i. 
defend  its  frontiers  against  the  barbarians.    Aware  of  this  grea 
parity  of  forces,  he  began  to  think  of  obtaining  the  as^ 
heaven:  the  dreadful  fate  of  the  persecutors  of  Christianity  i. 
ready  given  him  some  just  ideas  respecting  the  true  God  who 


*.D.  y*~X!7.          CO  \STANT  INK    TIIK    GREAT.  99 

ADI  adored;  that  God  he  fervently  invoked,  «-nir<-ating  him  to 
and  the  Almighty  heard  a  prayer  which  Came    from 
•Od  an  upright  h'-art. 

As  the  empeior  was  marching  with  his  troopH  into  Italy,  on 
tain  day  in  UK:  afternoon,  he   saw  in  the  sky,  just  over  the  .sun,  the 

•A'  a   lurii:;.  ,    with    the    following    in  enption  : 

TOYT12  MKA)   IN  THIM   CONQUER.      His  army,  as  wll  afl  himself, 
saw  the  Ipfeniid  prodigy,  which  struck  all  tin;  bchold'-rs  with  aston 
iv.hrn'-nt.*     Coiistantinc   was    jnspir'-d   to    rnakf:  a   r'-pr<-sfiitation    of 
that    cross,   and    to  U86   it  88  a  standard    in    haltlir.      ll<-   a«M-f>/(iin{fly 
»jad«;  the  famous  hami'-r  »-.all«-rl  Lahuntin,  and  h<  in^  iliu'-.  enCQUl 
hy  «-vidf-nt   marks  f;f  th<:    divine   prof-'-.iion,  ':on(id«-ntly   comme/i'-.'  d 
the  w:> 

He   i  if  h"l'>re    S'J/:,  |.,wn  at  th"  «-n 

t!y,  look  it  hy  storm,  and    th'-n  advan-«-d   iovv:ird  •-.  Tumi. 
lie  found  then-  an  army  w  -o'l  oid«-r  and  n-ady  to  >/iv«-  him 

battle;  a   hody  of  hors«:  comp!"i'-ly   armed   afu-r  the  manru-r  of  th«: 

,•''!..     <  on  Cintinc,  who    : 

that  these  cuirassiers,  confined    as   tj.  .nor,  could 

only  advance,  and  that  th<  on  <-ith<-r  hackward  or  to  i-iili»-r 

M  '-xT'-m'-ly  diffi'-ult    for   them,  op<-n<-d    : 
•:nd    jmiii'-di:il'  ,  .  '    clut/s,  struck    • 

l^th    liorses  and   rid'-rs,  and   kill"d    th'-rn  all,  without  losing  a 

,'e.     Tiie  r<-st  of  the  ai/ny  of  M 

-jn|)!eu-ly    routed.     Turjn  'he    conqueror   with    joy; 

Milan,  soon  after  did  the  -am",  and  the  whole  rountry  on  the  left  of 

the   ]%;  fr,,m   Turin  to  Brescia,  willingly  accepted   hi-,  laWi.     Hi« 

mildness  greatly   M  rved   to  facilitate   his  conqucHts:   he  was  not  one 

•j'jeror,    v/ho   mark    li.ejr   p/o^ress    witfi    tenor 

and   <\<  .trary,  the  cities  which  submitted   to  him 

i  on  to  PJ-  !  fortune,  as  they  experionced  from 

him  nothing  hut  benevolence  and  generosity. 

At  IJrescia,  he  was  again  opposed  by  a  great  hody  of  lior«e;  but 
.e|fj»-»i  and  retreat/-d  towards  Verona,  where  a  fresh  a  ml 
/us  army  had   been  aMembled,  by  order  of  Maxenv 
the  command  of  Porn  peianus,  a  general  of  great  p  , 

jfely  crossed   the  A'lige,  did   not  hesitate  to  be- 
':eshfully  repelled  all  the  attacks  made  to  hinder 


::fif.ion  of  the  cro---H  to  Cof.-,t;ir.tif<e  iN  pl:ir-«:d  b--  I 
•>:\\>\<:   doubt,    by  th':    concur,-. 

it    h>,:n    tfjfl    ni'y-jHi  of     ' 
,',n   witti    hi-.  o;tlh.      l'Mwh.  " 
.  .  28. 


100  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Part  II 


his  approach.  Ruricius  fearing  that  the  city  would  soon  be  compelled 
to  surrender,  secretly  withdrew,  and  raising  a  new  supply  of  troops 
returned  with  them  in  order  to  fight  Constantine,  and  force  him  t« 
abandon  the  siege.  The  emperor  was,  by  that  means,  between  th 
city  and  an  army  of  enemies  coming  to  attack  him  in  his  camp.  1* 
this  perplexing  situation,  he  formed  his  plan  with  equal  bravery  ana 
judgment,  and  leaving  a  part  of  his  troops  to  continue  the  siege  of 
Verona,  marched  with  the  rest  against  Ruricius.  He  had  fewer  men 
than  his  adversary,  and  was  obliged  to  draw  up  his  whole  army  in  a 
single  line,  in  order  to  present  a  front  equal  to  that  of  the  enemy. 
But  his  prudence  and  valor  made  him  a  match  for  the  foe,  notwith- 
standing this  disparity  of  numbers.  No  sooner  had  he  given  the  sig 
nal,  than  he  threw  himself  into  the  thickest  of  the  battle,  with  so 
little  regard  for  his  own  safety,  that  his  principal  officers  thought 
themselves  bound  to  complain  of  it  after  the  victory,  and  to  entreat 
him,  with  tears  in  their  eyes,  not  to  expose  his  life  so  much  in  future. 

The  battle  having  commenced  late  in  the  evening,  lasted  until  the 
night  was  far  spent.  Ruricius  was  killed  upon  the  spot ;  his  army  was 
destroyed  or  dispersed;  and  the  besieged  city,  having  no  longer  any 
hope,  surrendered  to  the  conqueror.  The  neighboring  towns  follow- 
ed the  example,  and  the  whole  country,  as  far  as  Rome,  submitted 
to  Constantine,  who  soon  appeared  at  the  head  of  his  victorious 
army,  in  sight  of  that  capital. 

Maxentius,  who  had  hitherto  remained  in  Rome,  was  at  last  pre- 
vailed upon  to  put  himself  at  the  head  of  his  remaining  legions.  He 
accordingly  marched  out  of  the  city,  and  set  them  in  battle  array 
along  the  Tiber;  Constantine,  on  his  side,  when  he  drew  near  the 
enemy,  arranged  his  troops  as  advantageously  as  possible.  During 
the  battle,  he  displayed  his  usual  skill  as  a  warrior  and  a  general, 
and  was  so  well  seconded  by  his  officers  and  soldiers,  that  the  nu- 
merous troops  of  Maxentius  were  broken  almost  at  the  first  onset. 
Such  as  resisted,  were  cut  to  pieces;  the  rest  endeavored  to  cross  the 
Tiber,  either  over  a  bridge  or  by  swimming;  but  the  bridge  being 
broken  by  some  accident,  or  by  the  weight  and  multitude  of  the  fugi- 
tives, most  of  them  were  drowned,  and  Maxentius  also  perished. 
This  happened  on  the  twenty-eighth  October  (A.  D.  312). 

On  the  following  day,  Constantine  made  his  solemn  entry  into 
Rome,  where  he  was  received  with  universal  applause  and  exulta- 
tion, as  the  deliverer  of  the  empire.  In  order  to  transmit  to  posterity 
the  memory  of  these  great  events,  a  magnificent  triumphal  arch 
which  is  yet  extant,  was  built  at  the  foot  of  Mount  Palatine,  near  the 
amphitheatre  of  Vespasian.  A  statue  also  was  erected  in  one  of  the 
public  places  of  the  city,  representing  the  conqueror  with  a  cross  in  his 
hand,  and  bearing  the  following  inscription,  a  token  of  his  religious 


A.D.306-337.         CONSTANTINE    THE    GREAT.  101 

gratitude :  "  By  this  salutary  sign,  the  true  mark  of  courage,  I  have 
delivered  your  city  from  the  yoke  of  the  tyrants,  and  restored  the 
senate  and  the  people  of  Rome  to  their  ancient  splendor." 

Constantine  made  no  other  use  of  the  great  power  he  had  ac- 
quired by  his  victory,  than  to  disband  the  praetorians,  whom  he 
reduced  to  the  rank  of  common  soldiers,  and  to  destroy  their  camp, 
which  had  been  so  frequently,  since  the  reign  of  Tiberius,  the  seat 
of  disorder  and  rebellion.  He  made  no  innovation  in  the  govern- 
ment, magistracy  and  offices,  and  abrogated  no  laws,  except  such  as 
were  useless  or  unjust,  v.  g.  those  against  the  Christians,  which  he 
expressly  annulled  by  a  solemn  edict.  Moreover,  he  himself  began 
from  that  time  to  make  an  open  profession  of  Christianity,  and  to 
build  splendid  churches  in  honor  of  the  true  God,  by  whom  he  had 
been  qp  visibly  protected.  Hence,  the  same  year  312,  which  beheld 
the  triumph  and  conversion  of  Constantine,  beheld  also  the  complete 
triumph  of  the  Christian  religion  over  her  enemies,  and  may  be  con- 
sidered as  the  real  epoch  of  the  downfall  of  idolatry,  which,  without 
being  persecuted,  tottered  to  its  fall,  as  soon  as  it  was  left  to  its  natu- 
ral weakness. 

Towards  the  time  when  Rome  and  Italy  were  delivered  from  the 
tyranny  of  Maxentius,  Asia  was  likewise  rescued  from  her  tyrant 
Maximin  II,  one  of  the  two  Caesars  formerly  appointed  by  Galerius, 
and,  like  him,  one  of  the  most  cruel  persecutors  of  the  Church  of 
Christ.  Blinded  by  his  ambition,  he  invaded  the  provinces  of  Lici- 
nius,  but  was  conquered,  near  Byzantium,  by  a  much  smaller  army 
than  his  own.  The  conquerors  pursued  him  as  far  as  Tarsus  in 
Cilicia,  where  seeing  himself  almost  in  the  hands  of  his  enemy,  he 
tried  to  shorten  his  life  by  poison.  The  poison  instead  of  producing 
immediate  effect,  brought  on  a  dreadful  disease:  he  was  inwardly 
burnt,  with  excruciating  tortures :  in  the  excess  of  his  pains,  he  rolled 
himself  on  the  ground,  and  roaring  in  a  frightful  manner,  dashed  his 
head  against  the  walls  with  such  violence,  that  his  eyes  started  from 
their  sockets ;  a  visible  punishment  of  the  cruelty  with  which  he  had 
caused  the  eyes  of  numbers  of  Christians  to  be  put  out,  during  the 
persecution.  He  expired,  after  several  days  of  intolerable  sufferings, 
in  rage  and  despair. 

By  his  death,  Licinius  remained  sole  sovereign  in  the  East.  But 
Licinius  himself,  although  a  skilful  general,  was  a  cruel  and  worth- 
less prince,  an  enemy  to  men  of  learning,  and,  in  his  heart,  a  foe  to 
religion,  though  to  please  Constantine,  he  at  first  joined  with  him  in 
publishing  edicts  in  favor  of  the  Christians.  Believing  himself  in- 
jured by  the  proposal  of  his  colleague  for  a  new  and  more  adequate 
division  of  the  empire,  he  raised  armies  to  oppose  the  armies  of  Con- 
stantine.  The  two  emperors,  each  at  the  head  of  his  troops,  met 
9* 


102 


MODERN    HISTORY.  Part  „. 


near  Cibalis  in  Pannonia,  where  they  commenced  a  sharp  and  well 
contested  battle.  It  lasted  from  morning  till  night ;  when  at  length 
Constantine's  right  wing  began  to  obtain  a  decided  advantage,  which 
led  in  a  short  time  to  a  complete  victory.  Licinius  finding  himself 
totally  defeated,  fled  to  Syrmium,  and  thence  to  Adrianople  in 
Thrace,  where  he  hastened  to  raise  new  forces,  in  order  to  stop  the 
progress  of  his  enemy.  Accordingly,  another  battle  was  fought  near 
a  place  named  Mardia.  Here  neither  of  the  parties  could  claim  the 
•  victory,  nor  could  either  of  them  be  said  to  have  been  vanquished, 
though  Licinius  suffered  more  than  his  adversary  j*  but  their  nearly 
equal  losses  facilitated  an  accommodation.  Constantine,  on  account 
of  his  previous  success  and  greater  actual  resources,  dictated  the  terms 
of  the  treaty,  and  obtained  a  considerable  increase  of  his  dominions 
(A.  D.  314).  * 

This  treaty,  though  greatly  disadvantageous  to  Licinius,  was  not, 
like  most  treaties  of  the  same  kind,  of  short  duration.  It  lasted  eight 
years,  during  which  the  empire  was  enabled  to  recover  from  the  con- 
tinual shocks  and  disturbances  it  had  suffered  ever  since  the 
death  of  Constantius-Chlorus.  But,  in  the  year  323,  hostilities  were 
again  provoked  by  Licinius.  Constantine,  ever  quick  and  active, 
immediately  entered  his  enemy's  territory,  and  went  in  search  of 
him,  with  an  army  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  foot  and  ten 
thousand  horse.  The  troops  of  Licinius  amounted  to  one  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  infantry  and  fifteen  thousand  cavalry.  He  had, 
besides,  a  powerful  fleet  consisting  of  three  hundred  and  fifty  galleys, 
to  which  Constantine  could  only  oppose  two  .hundred  galleys,  under 
the  command  of  his  son  Crispus. 

The  two  land  armies  came  in  sight  of  each  other  near  Adrianople, 
but  were  still  separated  by  the  river  Hebrus.  Licinius,  being  advan- 
tageously posted  upon  an  eminence,  kept  himself  on  the  defensive. 
Constantine  earnestly  desired  to  attack  him,  and  as  the  river  was  an 
obstacle,  his  warlike  ardor,  which  could  not  bear  a  state  of  inactivity, 
made  him  contrive  a  stratagem  to  surprise  the  enemy.  He  ordered 
a  quantity  of  wood  to  be  cut,  and  cables  to  be  prepared,  as  if  he  in- 
tended to  throw  a  bridge  over  the  Hebrus,  and  whilst  the  men  of 
Licinius  were  trying  to  impede  the  progress  of  this  work,  Constan- 
tine, with  a  small  detachment,  went  higher  up  the  river,  to  a  place 
where  he  knew  it  to  be  fordable,  and  crossing  it  at  the  head  of  some 
horsemen,  was  soon  after  followed  by  his  whole  army.  Licinius, 
thus  unexpectedly  attacked,  and  unable  to  retreat,  was  forced  to  fight. 
A  great  part  of  his  troops  made  but  little  resistance:  they  were  dis- 

*  This  was,  during  the  long  reign  of  Constantine,  the  only  battle  in  which 
he  was  not  completely  victorious. 


0.306-337.     CONSTANTINE    THE    GREAT.  103 

concerted  by  the  success  of  the  enemy  in  passing  the  river,  whilst 
the  troops  of  Constantine  were  elated  with  the  hope  of  victory.  The 
event  justified  the  fears  of  one  party,  and  the  expectations  of  the 
other.  The  army  of  Licinius  was  completely  defeated,  and  his  camp 
forced  and  taken;  he  himself  fled  with  all  possible  speed  to  Byzan- 
tium, leaving  thirty-three  thousand  of  his  men  on  the  field  of  battle, 
the  rest  having  scattered  themselves  through  the  neighoring  woods 
and  mountains.  During  the  following  days,  all  these  vanquished 
fugitives  surrendered,  and  were  kindly  received. 

Constantine  pursued  Licinius,  and  blocked  him  up  by  land  in  By- 
eantium.  In  the  meanwhile,  two  naval  battles  were  fought  on  the 
narrow  seas  between  Europe  and  Asia,  in  which  Crispus.,  though 
much  inferior  in  forces,  so  well  availed  himself  first  of  the  narrow- 
ness of  the  strait,  and  then  of  a  strong  and  favorable  wind,  that  the 
enemy's  fleet  was  almost  entirely  destroyed.  This  enabled  the  vic- 
torious fleet  of  Constantine  to  advance  towards  Byzantium  and  to 
blockade  it  by  sea,  as  it  was  already  besieged  by  land.  Licinius, 
aware  of  the  imminent  danger  that  threatened  him,  fled  to  Chalcedon 
on  the  opposite  shore,  not  despairing  of  being  still  able  to  raise  a  suf- 
ficient force  to  try  his  fortune  again. 

He  was  thus  far  successful  in  his  plan;  for  we  find  him  at  the  head 
of  one  hundred  and  thirty  thousand  men,  when  his  adversary,  like- 
wise crossing  the  strait,  overtook  him  on  the  other  side.  The  armies 
engaged  near  Chrysopolis,  a  suburb  of  Chalcedon ;  and  Licinius,  in 
spite  of  all  his  efforts,  experienced  a  new  and  signal  overthrow.  One 
hundred  thousand  of  his  men  were  either  killed  or  taken  prisoners, 
the  rest  dispersed,  and  he  himself,  seeing  his  party  entirely  ruined, 
consented  to  surrender  (A.  D.  323).  He  obtained  leave  to  retire  to 
Phessalonica,  but  shortly  after  was  put  to  death,  with  his  son  and  his 
fhief  general,  either  because  he  meditated  new  disturbances,  or  for 
)ther  political  reasons  on  the  part  of  Constantiae,  who  perhaps  did 
not  m  this  transaction  sufficiently  consult  the  natural  generosity  of 
Ais  heart. 

The  other  partisans  of  Licinius  received  much  better  treatment 
from  the  conqueror,  being  left  by  him  in  the  full  possession  of  theii 
estates  and  dignities.  This  clemency,  not  less  than  the  perfect  ability 
with  which  he  had  conducted  the  war,  subdued  to  his  power  all  the 
provinces  of  the  East,  and  he  was  now  acknowledged,  without  fur- 
ther obstaclf,  in  the  whole  empire.  Being  thus  free  from  the  occu- 
pations and  tumults  of  warfare,  he  applied  himself  to  repair  the  evils 
of  past  disturbances  by  the  advantages  of  a  profound  and  lasting 
peace.  He  enacted  a  variety  of  excellent  laws,  some  in  favor  of  poor 
laborers,  children,  orphans,  widows,  prisoners  and  slaves;  others 
against  iniquitous  judges  and  governors,  in  a  word,  against  all  the 


104  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Part 


oppressors  of  his  people.  In  a  rescript  which  he  addressed  to  all  the 
subjects  of  the  empire,  he  thus  expressed  himself:  "  If  any  one,  of 
what  rank  and  condition  soever  he  may  be,  is  confident  that  he  can 
plainly  and  manifestly  prove  any  injustice  done  to  him  by  those  who 
exercise  authority  in  my  name,  let  him  apply  to  me  personally  ;  I 
will  myself  hear  him  ;  I  will  take  cognizance  of  the  cause  ;  and  if 
I  find  his  allegations  true,  I  will  severely  punish  the  man  who  shall 
have  deceived  me  by  a  false  appearance  of  integrity.  So  may  the 
Almighty  always  favor  and  protect  me,  and  keep  the  republic  safe 
and  flourishing." 

Such  were  the  admirable  views  of  Constantine  with  regard  to  the 
civil  administration.  He  likewise  applied  himself  with  great  care  to 
maintain  good  order  among  the  troops,  and  his  zeal  was  crowned 
with  success.  It  is  remarkable  that  in  the  great  number  of  civil  wars 
in  which  he  was  engaged,  no  sedition,  no  revolt  happened  in  his  ar- 
mies. He  owed  the  lasting  tranquility  he  enjoyed  in  this  respect, 
to  his  great  qualities  which  commanded  the  esteem  and  admiration 
of  his  officers  and  soldiers,  and  to  his  behavior  towards  them,  which 
was  properly  tempered  with  indulgence  and  resolution. 

Like  all  other  great  princes  of  every  age  and  country,  Constantine 
loved  and  patronized  letters.  He  himself  cultivated  them,  and  en- 
deavored to  procure  the  same  advantage  to  his  sons,  Crispus,  Con- 
stantine, Constantius  and  Constans,  giving  them  all  an  education 
suitable  to  their  birth,  and  to  the  high  rank  to  which*  they  were  des- 
tined. Besides  choosing  for  them  excellent  masters  in  every  depart- 
ment of  literature,  he  himself  was  their  first  master,  instructing  them 
in  Christian  piety,  in  the  science  of  government,  and  in  military  ex- 
ercises. He  taught  them  early  the  necessity  and  pleasure  of  doing 
good,  by  employing  their  tender  hands,  as  soon  as  they  could  write, 
in  signing  gratuities  and  rewards. 

This  great  and  good  prince  was  particularly  solicitous  to  make 
Christianity  flourish.  Nothing  afforded  him  more  pleasure  than  to 
learn  its  daily  progress,  and  he  himself  contributed  towards  its  ad- 
vancement by  his  exhortation  and  example.  Whilst  he  gloried  in 
openly  professing  that  holy  religion,  he  invited  by  an  edict  all  his 
subjects,  without  however  forcing  any  one,  to  renounce  their  old  su 
perstitions,  and  embrace  the  true  faith  which  Almighty  God  had 
manifested  to  the  whole  world  in  so  signal  a  manner.  The  zealous 
emperor  endeavored  also  by  letters  to  inspire  Sapor  II,  king  of  Persia, 
with  favorable  dispositions  towards  the  Christians  of  his  kingdom  ; 
and  not  being  able  to  succeed  in  this,  he  granted  a  safe  and  honorable 
retreat  to  those  who  were  compelled  to  fly  from  the  persecution  raging 
in  their  country.  In  fine,  it  was  through  his  protection  that  the  first 
general  council  of  the  Church  was  convened  and  celebrated  at  Nice, 


A.  D.  306-337.       CONSTANTINE    THE    GREAT.  105 

in  Bithynia  (A.  D.  325).  In  this  venerable  assembly,  three  hundred 
and  eighteen  bishops,  together  with  the  legates  of  Pope  St.  Sylvester, 
condemned  the  Arian  heresy  with  its  author  Arius,  who,  contrary  to 
the  Scriptures  and  to  the  belief  of  preceding  ages,  denied  the  divinity 
of  Christ. 

Until  about  that  time,  Constantine  had  reigned  with  such  wisdom 
and  happiness  as  to  have  rendered  himself  equal,  perhaps  superior,  to 
the  most  accomplished  and  celebrated  princes.  But  in  the  last  twelve 
years  of  his  life,  he  tarnished  in  some  degree  the  great  glory  which 
he  had  previously  acquired.  An  excessive  goodness  made  him  leave 
unpunished  the  bad  practices  of  many  among  the  magistrates  and 
other  public  officers ;  this  gave  rise  to  a  greater  number  of  vexations 
and  miseries  among  the  people.  He  also  too  easily  gave  credit  to 
crafty  and  hypocritical  persons,  who  abused  his  confidence,  and  in- 
duced him  to  banish,  or  exclude  from  favor,  some  of  the  most  worthy 
men  of  the  empire.  His  greatest  fault  was  towards  his  own  son 
Crispus,  a  young  prince  of  uncommon  merit;  the  emperor  was  so 
far  deceived  by  an  artful  calumny,  as  to  believe  him  guilty  of  an 
atrocious  design,  and,  in  the  first  moment  of  his  indignation,  caused 
him  to  be  put  to  death.  He  soon  perceived  the  calumny,  and  se- 
verely punished  its  authors  j  too  late  however  for  the  unfortunate 
Crispus,  whose  hasty  execution  he  could  but  bitterly  lament. 

Constantine  is  likewise  reproached  with  some  faults  in  his  govern- 
ment and  political  views,  chiefly  with  having  disunited  the  empire 
by  the  foundation  of  a  second  capital.  How  far  this  can  be  just  mat- 
ter of  reproach,  it  is  difficult  to  determine:  the  emperor's  intention 
seems  to  have  been  pure,  and  worthy  of  a  Christian  prince.  Wish- 
ing to  make  his  residence  in  a  place  entirely  purged  from  the  remains 
Df  idolatry,  and  being  exceedingly  pleased  with  the  situation  of  By- 
zantium in  Thrace,  he  built  on  that  spot  a  magnificent  city,  called 
from  his  name  Constantinople,  and  from  that  time  established  in  it 
the  principal  seat  of  the  empire  (A.  D.  330). 

The  faults  of  Constantine,  though  real  stains  on  his  memory,  must 
not  however  destroy  the  esteem  and  admiration  due  to  his  eminent 
qualities.  Activity,  application  to  affairs,  piety  and  benevolence 
always  shone  conspicuous  in  him.*  His  alms  to  the  poor  and  to  all 

*  Pagan  writers  themselves  bear  testimony  to  the  virtues  of  Constantine. 
Libanius  asserts  (oral.  3d)  that  he  was  always  engaged  in  contriving  or 
executing  some  great  design  for  the  public  utility.  Eutropius,  in  his  Roman 
hist.  lib.  x.  writes  of  him  thus :  "  Vir  primo  imperii  tempore  optimis  principi- 
bus,  ultimo  mediis  comparandus ;  innumerae  in  eo  animi  corporisque  virtutes 
claruerunt."  The  same,  in  substance,  is  said  by  Praxagoras,  Aurelius  Vic- 
tor, and  others,  whose  testimonies,  not  being  liable  to  any  charge  of  party 
prepossession,  are  by  far  preferable  to  the  invectives  of  the  angry  Zozimus 
and  of  Julian  the  Apostate,  both  of  them  the  worthy  predecessors  of  our 
modern  infidels,  in  thtir  hatred  against  a  prince  who  was  the  constant  pro- 
tector of  Christianity. 


106  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Part  IL 


persons  in  distress,  were  immense;  his  inclination  to  forgive  injuries, 
was  wonderful.  In  a  sedition  which  happened  in  Egypt,  probably  at 
Alexandria,  the  mutinous  populace  insulted  the  statues  of  the  empe- 
ror ;  the  courtiers,  in  order  to  aggravate  the  crime  of  the  seditious, 
represented  that  their  rage  had  gone  so  far  as  to  throw  stones  at  the 
face  of  their  prince,  which  still  bore  the  marks  of  so  foul  an  outrage. 
Upon  this,  Constantine,  with  a  smile,  put  his  hands  to  his  face,  and 
mildly  answered  :  " I  do  not  feel  any  hurt;"  thus  refuting  the  exagge- 
rated charge  of  the  courtiers,  and  reducing  them  to  silence  by  a  mag- 
nanimous reply  which  will  never  be  forgotten  by  posterity.  The  em- 
peror acted  consistently  with  his  principles.  Pitying  the  frenzy  of 
those  who  had  been  guilty  of  such  disrespect,  he  contented  himself 
with  taking  proper  measures  to  prevent  the  like  disorders  in  future. 

This  indulgence  and  goodness  of  Constantine  for  his  people, 
gained  him  the  affection  of  all;  whilst  his  greatness  and  glory  at- 
tracted the  respect,  not  only  of  the  Romans,  but  even  of  all  the 
neighboring  nations.  His  palace  was  crowded  with  ambassadors 
from  the  Germans,  the  Goths,  the  Sarmatians,  the  Persians,  the  In- 
dians, the  Ethiopians,  and  other  distant  nations,  as  different  from 
each  other  in  their  features  and  complexion,  as  in  their  dress  and  or- 
naments, but  all  filled  with  sentiments  of  deep  veneration  for  the  em- 
peror. According  to  the  difference  of  their  countries  and  climes, 
they  brought  him  a  great  variety  of  presents,  such  as  crowns  of 
gold,  diadems  enriched  with  precious  stones,  arms  of  a  particular 
kind,  animals  unknown  in  Europe,  etc.  Constantine  graciously  re- 
ceived their  presents,  and  in  return  made  them  others  of  much 
greater  value.  Many  of  these  foreigners  were  so  much  struck  at  the 
splendor  of  his  court,  so  delighted  with  his  noble  and  affable  beha- 
vior, and  conceived  such  an  esteem  for  his  virtue,  in  proportion  as 
they  became  better  acquainted  with  him,  that,  forgetting  their  own 
country,  they  attached  themselves  to  the  service  of  so  great  and  so 
excellent  a  prince. 

The  glory  of  arms  contributed  to  crown  the  splendor  of  his 
latter  years.  He  had  already,  during  the  interval  of  his  wars  against 
Licinius,  defeated  the  Goths  and  the  Sarmatians  in  many  battles ; 
but,  that  first  lesson  not  having  sufficiently  subdued  their  rettless 
spirit,  upon  their  renewing  the  hostilities  in  the  year  332,  he  again 
so  signally  defeated  those  fierce  nations,  that  they  were  obliged  to  sue 
for  peace,  and  to  give  hostages.  In  fine,  he  showed  the  same  reso- 
lution against  the  Persians  who  had  lately  attacked  Mesopotamia : 
though  much  advanced  in  age,  he  prepared  to  inarch  against  them, 
and  the  mere  terror  of  his  name,  made  them  retire  beyond  the  Tigris. 

Shortly  after,  Constantine  fell  dangerously  ill,  and  having  pre- 
pared himself  for  death  by  an  increase  of  piety,  departed  this  life,  on 


A.  D.  337-361.  CONSTANTIUS,  ETC.  107 

the  22d  of  May  (A.  D.  337),  at  the  age  of  nearly  sixty-four,  after  a 
glorious  reign  of  thirty-one  years,  the  longest  since  that  of  Augustus. 
The  splendor  of  his  military,  political  and  religious  achievements, 
gained  him  the  surname  of  GREAT  which  posterity  has  confirmed. 
No  grief  was  ever  more  universal,  more  sincere,  and  more  strongly 
expressed,  than  that  occasioned  by  his  death.  No  sooner  was  the 
melancholy  event  made  known,  than  his  guards  rent  their  garments, 
and  in  the  excess  of  their  sorrow,  struck  their  heads  and  fell  to  the 
ground,  calling  him  with  lamentable  sobs  and  cries  their  beloved 
master,  sovereign  and  father.  The  tribunes,  the  centurions,  and  the 
soldiers  seemed  unwilling  to  survive  a  prince,  whose  liberality  they 
had  constantly  experienced,  whose  heroic  valor  they  had  so  fre- 
quently admired  on  the  field  of  battle.  The  inhabitants  of  Nicomedia 
ran  confusedly  through  the  streets,  sighing  and  weeping;  it  seemed 
as  if  each  family  had  lost  the  best  of  parents.  In  a  word,  all  the  em- 
pire, and  Rome  itself,  which  he  had  left  for  another  residence,  were 
plunged  in  the  deepest  affliction ;  and  so  dear  to  all  was  the  memory 
of  their  deceased  sovereign,  that  both  the  people  of  this  capital,  and 
the  many  legions  scattered  through  the  provinces,  unanimously  re- 
solved, without  the  possibility  of  common  deliberation,  to  acknow- 
ledge none  as  emperors,  except  the  sons  of  Constantine. 


CONST  ANTIUS  AM)  HIS  BROTHERS  COTfSTANTINE  II  AND 
CONSTANS.— A.  D.  337—361. 


THE  three  brothers  divided  the  empire  among  themselves,  in  the  fol- 
lowing manner:  Gaul,  Britain  and  Spain  were  allotted  to  Constantine, 
who  was  the  eldest;  Italy,  Illyria  and  Africa,  to  Constans,  wno  was 
the  youngest ;  and  the  provinces  of  the  East,  to  Constantius.  It  might 
seem  that  every  thing  had  been  settled  to  their  common  satisfaction; 
however,  Constantine  remained  only  a  short  time  contented  with  his 
department.  After  several  useless  complaints,  he  endeavored  to  en- 
croach upon  the  territories  of  Constans,  but  perished  in  the  attempt 
being  slain  in  ambuscade  near  Aquileia,  (A.  D.  340).  Constans  then 
seized  the  estates  of  the  vanquished,  and  a'dded  them  to  his  own. 

Constantius  took  no  share  in  the  quarrels  of  his  brothers.  Being 
moderate  and  humane  by  nature,  but  weak,  suspicious,  jealous,  even 
cruel  through  ambition,*  and  always  surrounded  by  evil  counsellors, 
who  knew  how  to  conceal  their  wickedness  under  the  mask  of  vir- 
tue, he  made  it  his  chief  occupation  to  disturb  the  Church  in  favor 

*He  is  commonly  thought  to  have  connived  at  the  murder  of  his  uncles 
and  nearly  all  his  cousins,  which,  under  pretence  of  zeal,  was  perpetrated 


r 


108  MODERN  HISTORY.  PartIL 

of  the  Arians,  and  obstinately  to  persecute  the  great  St.  Athanasius, 
patriarch  of  Alexandria,  and  the  other  defenders  of  the  Nicene  faith. 
However,  he  was  also  engaged  for  many  years,  in  opposing  the  re- 
peated attacks  of  the  Persians,  and  this  he  did  with  very  little  ability 
and  success ;  yet,  the  enemy  did  not  gain  any  decisive  advantage, 
and  having  three  times  assaulted  the  city  of  Nisibis,  was  as  many 
times  repelled  with  considerable  loss. 

Another  revolution  in  the  West  soon  attracted  the  attention  of 
Constantius.  In  the  year  350,  his  brother  Constans  fell  a  victim  to  a 
conspiracy  artfully  contrived  by  a  certain  Magnentius,  who  com- 
manded some  troops  in  Gaul,  and  pretended  to  reign  in  his  place. 
At  the  first  news  of  this  disastrous  event,  Constantius  hastened  from 
the  East  to  punish  the  usurper,  who,  on  his  side,  had  made  exten- 
sive preparations  to  repel  the  attack.  The  famous  battle  of  Mursa 
which  cost  the  lives  of  sixty  thousand  men,  decided  the  contest  in 
favor  of  Constantius.  After  extraordinary  exertions  made  by  both 
parties,  the  troops  of  Magnentius  were  completely  routed,  and  either 
destroyed  by  the  cavalry  of  Constantius,  or  precipitated  into  the  river 
Drave.  In  this  distress,  Magnentius,  seeing  himself  on  the  point  of 
falling  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  cast  off  the  imperial  insignia, 
took  the  horse  and  garments  of  a  common  soldier,  and  fled  in  full 
speed  across  the  Alps,  until  he  arrived  at  Aquileia.  After  a  short 
stay  there,  he  retired  to  Lyons  in  Gaul,  where  he  tried  the  chance  of 
another  battle,  but  was  again  defeated.  At  length,  finding  himself 
abandoned  by  his  own  troops,  he  put  his  family  to  the  sword,  and 
then  killed  himself,  after  an  usurped  reign  of  three  years  (A.  D.  353). 

Thus  all  the  parts  of  the  empire  were  again  united  under  the 
same  sovereign.  But  such  *  burden  was  too  heavy  for  Constantius, 
and  he  himself  being  sensible  how  much  he  stood  in  need  of  an  as- 
sistant, made  choice,  for  this  purpose,  of  his  cousin  Julian,  who  had, 
on  account  of  his  tender  age,  been  spared  in  the  massacre  of  his 
family.  He  conferred  on  him  the  title  of  Cassar,  and  sent  him  to  de- 
fend the  frontiers  near  the  Rnme  against  the  inroads  of  the  Germans. 
After  having  freed  himself  from  the  cares  of  war,  ne  applied  more  than 
ever  to  his  favorite  occupation  of  promoting  the  cause  of  Arianism. 
By  his  orders,  the  orthodox  bishops  were  driven  from  their  sees,  ba- 
nished, imprisoned,  and  compelled  by  threats  and  ill-treatment  to  sign 
ambiguous  formulas  which  might  afterwards  be  made  subservient  to 
a  confirmation  of  the  heresy.  But  neither  artifice  nor  violence  could 
make  Arianism  prevail  in  the  Church,  and  even  in  the  midst  of  the 

by  the  soldiers  in  the  beginning  of  his  reign.  His  brothers,  on  the  contrary, 
do  not  appear  to  have  in  any  way  participated  in  the  odious  and  cruel  deed, 
nor  was  it  ever  laid  to  their  charge. 


A.  D.  3C1— 363. 


JULIAN.  109 


storm,  the  far  greater  number  of  both  the  pastors  and  the  faithful  al- 
ways closely  adhered  to  the  profession  of  the  true  faith,  as  is  attested 
by  St.  Athanasius,*  Sulpitius-Severus,f  and  others. 

Whilst  Constantius  disturbed  the  whole  Christian  flock,  Julian  was 
discharging  his  duties  and  fulfilling  .his  perilous  commission  in  Gaul 
'.vilh  great  success.  This  prince,  who  afterwards  deserved  the  sur- 
name of  Jlpostate,  at  first  displayed  only  great  qualities.  His  princi- 
pal care  was  tore-establish  good  order  in  the  provinces,  and  discipline 
in  the  armies.  Attacked  by  numerous  hordes  of  Alemanni  and 
Franks,  he  not  only  delivered  the  country  from  their  invasion,  but 
entirely  defeated  seven  of  their  kings  in  a  great  bp.Ule  near  Strasburg, 
pursued  them  beyond  the  Rhine,  and  subdued  them  by  repeated 
victories. 

The  emperor  became  jealous  and  alarmed  at  the  increasing  glory 
of  the  young  Caesar;  and,  being  moreover  attacked  anew  by  the  Per- 
sians, he  thought  it  a  proper  opportunity  to  deprive  Julian  of  a  con- 
siderable portion  of  his  troops.  Accordingly,  some  legions  were 
commanded  to  depart  from  Gaul  into  Asia.  This  order  caused  gene- 
ral discontent,  both  among  the  soldiers,  and  the  inhabitants  who  en- 
treated them  not  to  abandon  a  country  which  they  had  so  well  de- 
fended ;  at  last,  the  troops  revolted,  and  proclaimed  Julian  emperor. 
With  real  or  feigned  reluctance,  he  accepted  the  title  offered  him  by 
the  soldiers,  took  the  diadem,  and  not  being  able  to  settle  his  differ- 
ence with  Constantius  in  a  peaceful  manner,  advanced  as  far  as  Sir- 
mium  to  fight  against  that  prince,  who  after  all  had  been  his  bene- 
factor as  well  as  sovereign.  Fortunately  for  his  cause,  the  death  of 
Constantius,  which  happened  just  at  that  time  (November  361),  de- 
livered him  from  his  perplexing  position,  and  preserved  the  empire 
from  the  horrors  of  a  new  civil  war. 


JULIAN.— A.  D.  361—363. 

JULIAN  now  proceeded  without  opposition  to  Constantinople, 
where  he  was  immediately  acknowledged  emperor,  as  well  as  in  all 
the  provinces.  The  beginning  of  his  reign  was  remarkable  for  the 
ardor  with  which  he  affected  to  redress  the  abuses  of  the  late  govern- 
ment; and  it  cannot  be  denied  that  he  greatly  improved,  in  a  short 
time,  many  parts  of  the  civil  and  military  administration.  But  in 
this  prince,  good  was  always  attended  with  evil.  He  aimed  at  noth- 
ing so  much  as  the  restoration  of  the  worship  of  idols,  and  the  de- 

*  S.  Athan.  Epist.  ad  Jovianum  Imper.  n.  2. 
f  Sulp.  Sever,  hist.  sacr.  lib.  rr.  passim. 


110  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Part  II. 


struction  of  the  religion  of  Christ,  which  he  had  already  publicly 
renounced.  He  pursued  this  two-fold  object  with  incessant  and  un- 
abated activity  ;  though  he  endeavored  to  effect  it  more  by  dissimu- 
lation and  artful  measures,  than  by  open  force  and  violence.  Whilst 
all  favors  were  lavished  on  a  crowd  of  miserable  sophists  and  magi- 
cians by  whom  he  was  constantly  surrounded,  the  Christians  expe- 
rienced nothing  from  him  but  contempt,  vexatious  and  disgrace.  On 
all  occasions  he  loaded  them  with  insult,  and  openly  violated  in  their 
regard  the  most  common  laws  of  equity ;  excluding  them  from  the 
rights  of  citizens,  and  from  fair  trial  in  the  courts  of  justice;  forbid- 
ding them  to  teach  and  to  be  taught  in  the  schools;  not  admitting  any 
one  to  offices  of  trust  and  authority ;  continually  endeavoring  to  make 
apostates;  and,  notwithstanding  his  feigned  moderation,  often  giving 
secret  orders  to  put  to  death  those  on  whom  other  means  of  seduc- 
tion had  produced  no  effect. 

Julian  desired  above  all  things  to  bring  the  charge  of  imposture  on 
the  predictions  of  our  Saviour*  and  of  the  prophet  Danielf  concern- 
ing the  entire  and  irreparable  desolation  of  the  temple  of  Jerusalem. 
Nearly  three  hundred  years  after  it  had  been  destroyed  under  Vespa- 
sian and  Titus,  he  undertook  to  raise  it  from  its  ruins.  Although  the 
Jews  had  no  great  share  in  his  affection,  he  invited  them,  by  a  flat- 
tering letter,  to  concur  in  the  enterprise ;  and,  uniting  effects  with 
promises,  he  sent  a  great  number  of  workmen  to  Jerusalem,  ordered 
his  treasurers  to  furnish  money  and  every  thing  necessary  for  the  re- 
building of  the  temple,  and  appointed  one  of  his  confidential  officers, 
named  Alypius,  to  enforce  the  execution  of  his  orders. 

The  news  was  no  sooner  spread  abroad,  than  the  Jews,  elated  with 
joy,  flocked  from  all  parts  to  Jerusalem.  Immense  quantities  of 
stone,  brick,  timber  and  other  materials  were  prepared  for  the  impor- 
tant work.  When  every  thing  was  in  readiness,  the  workmen  began 
to  clear  the  ground,  to  dig  up  the  earth,  and  to  remove  the  old  foun- 
dations; Jews  of  all  ranks,  young  and  old,  women  and  children, 
shared  in  the  labor,  with  so  much  eargerness,  that  some  made  use 
of  silver  pickaxes  and  spades,  in  honor  of  the  undertaking.  St.  Cyril, 
bishop  of  Jerusalem,  beheld  these  mighty  preparations  without  anx- 
iety. Full  of  confidence  in  the  divine  predictions,  he  said  that  the 
Jews,  far  from  being  able  to  rebuild  their  temple,  would,  on  the  con- 
trary, fully  verify  the  prophecy  of  Christ,  by  entirely  removing  the 
former  foundations  which  still  subsisted,  and  thus  be  instrumental  in 
the  literal  fulfilment  of  what  our  Saviour  had  foretold,  that  of  all  this 
splendid  temple  there  should  not  be  left  a  stone  upon  a  stone. 

The  trenches  were  now  open,  the  new  foundations  were  ready  to 
be  laid  next  morning,  and  the  Jews  already  began  to  triumph  ;  when, 
*  Matt,  xxiv,  2.  t  Dnn.  ix,  27. 


D.  361-4363. 


JULIAN.  Ill 


during  the  night,  a  sudden  earthquake  destroyed  the  trenches,  over- 
turned the  adjacent  buildings,  and  buried  many  workmen  under  the 
ruins  :  at  the  same  time,  the  prodigious  heaps  of  lime,  sand  and 
other  materials  which  had  been  prepared,  were  scattered  by  whirl- 
winds. This  first  obstacle  astonished  the  Jews,  but  did  not  conquer 
their  obstinacy;  and  they  again  set  to  work,  under  the  direction  of 
Alypius.  At  this  moment,  from  the  bowels  of  the  earth,  near  the 
foundation,  there  burst  forth  a  flaming  torrent  and  balls  of  fire,  which 
dislodged  the  stones,  melted  the  iron  instruments,  burned  the  work- 
men, and  afterwards,  running  through  the  place  and  amidst  the  mul- 
titude of  spectators,  consumed  or  suffocated  the  Jews,  whom  the 
avenging  element  singled  out  with  a  sort  of  instinct.  This  awful 
prodigy  was  often  repeated,  and  what  showed  more  and  more  visibly 
the  supernatural  intervention  of  the  divine  power,  was  that  the  fire 
reappeared  whenever  the  work  was  resumed,  and  ceased  only  when 
the  attempt  was  entirely  given  over. 

There  is  not  in  all  history  a  fact  more  certain  and  incontestible  than 
this,  as  it  happened,  to  use  the  words  of  an  illustrious  historian,*  in 
the  presence  of  the  whole  world,  and  was  equally  attested  by  Chris- 
tians, Jews  and  Gentiles.f  Many  among  the  witnesses  of  this  pro- 
digious event,  whether  -Jews  or  Heathens,  confessed  the  divinity  of 
Christ,  and  asked  for  baptism.  The  unhappy  Julian,  on  the  contrary, 
still  continued  blind  and  hardened  in  the  midst  of  so  much  light,  and 
now  directed  his  principal  thoughts  to  another  object. 

He  had  been,  all  this  while,  making  preparations  for  war,  in  order 
to  avenge  the  many  insults  offered  to  the  empire  by  Sapor,  its  inve- 
terate enemy.  This  Sapor  is  famous  among  the  Persian  kings,  for 
his  warlike  disposition,  violence  and  cruelties,  during  a  reign  of 
seventy  years  :  he  had  lately  overrun  that  part  of  Mesopotamia  which 
belonged  to  the  Romans,  and  destroyed  the  important  city  of  Amide. 
Julian  resolved,  not  only  to  drive  him  from  his  frontiers,  but  also  to 
subdue  the  whole  Persian  monarchy,  and  then,  like  Alexander  the 
Great,  to  proceed  to  the  conquest  of  India. 

With  this  view,  he  crossed  the  Euphrates  at  the  head  of  sixty 
five  thousand  men,  and  marched  through  Carra?  in  Mesopotamia,  a 
spot  rendered  famous  by  the  defeat  of  Crassus.  He  also  visited  the 
sepulchre  of  Gordian  III,  who  had  been  murdered  at  the  end  of  a 
glorious  expedition  against  the  same  Persians.  Thence,  the  Romans 
followed  the  course  of  the  river,  taking  by  storm  and  firing  such  cities 
as  offered  any  resistance;  a  numerous  fleet,  loaded  with  provisions, 
accompanied  the  army. 

*  Lebeau.  hist,  du  Bus  Empire,  ad  arm.  3G3.  vol.  in,  p.  264. 
t  See  Note  D. 


J12  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Tart  JL 


At  a  short  distance  from  the  royal  city  of  Ctesiphon,  Julian  dis- 
covered the  vestiges  of  an  ancient  canal,  which  had  been  dug  by  the 
Babylonian  kings,  to  unite  the  Euphrates  and  the  Tigris,  but  which 
was  now  filled  up,  and  could  scarcely  be  distinguished  from  the 
other  parts  of  the  plain.  The  emperor  caused  it  to  be  cleared,  and 
the  fleet  following  the  current  of  the  water,  easily  passed  from  the 
Euphrates  into  the  Tigris.  After  a  short  stay,  the  whole  army 
crossed  the  Tigris  itself,  in  spite  of  numerous  bands  of  Persians 
who,  from  the  other  side  of  the  river,  vigorously  opposed  the  passage, 
but  who,  not  being  able  to  resist  long  the  impetuous  shock  of  the 
Roman  legions,  were  completely  routed.  The  success  of  the  day 
WHS  owing  chiefly  to  the  intrepidity,  firmness  and  presence  of  mind 
of  Julian. 

He  did  not  however  attempt  to  besiege  Ctesiphon,  for  fear  both  of 
spending  too  much  time  in  this  undertaking,  and  of  being  himself 
shut  up  between  that  town  and  a  formidable  army  conducted  by  Sa- 
por, which  was  daily  approaching.  He  then  resolved  to  follow  up 
the  Tigris,  until  he  should  reach  the  confines  of  Armenia;  but  a  spe- 
cious advice,  given  him  by  a  Persian  deserter  whose  fidelity  he  did  not 
suspect,  made  him  again  alter  his  plan.  Under  the  pretence  that  the 
fleet  would  be  scarcely  able,  even  with  extraordinary  exertions,  to 
overcome  the  rapidity  of  the  current,  he  gave  orders,  notwithstanding 
the  objection  of  the  whole  army,  that  the  vessels  should  be  set  on 
fire ;  he  then  left  the  banks  of  the  Tigris,  the  more  quickly  to  pene- 
trate into  the  heart  of  the  enemy's  country,  and  carried  his  impru- 
dence so  far  as  to  continue  for  several  days  in  the  the  way  which 
his  perfidious  guide  pointed  out  to  him,  even  after  the  treason  was 
detected. 

The  army  first  advanced  through  a  rich  and  fertile  country,  but 
soon  found  itself  in  the  midst  of  vast  plains  where  every  thing  had 
been  purposely  destroyed  and  burnt  by  the  Persians.  The  troops  of 
Sapor  then  appeared,  and,  thinking  the  occasion  proper  for  battle, 
attacked  the  Romans.  The  latter  indeed  remained  victorious ;  but 
they  had  now  to  struggle  against  more  dangerous  enemies,  namely, 
fatigue,  anxiety  and  famine.  The  dangers  of  the  march  increased 
every  day;  and,  to  complete  their  misfortune,  they  lost  just  at  that 
time  the  man  who  alone  could  have  saved  them  without  dishonor, 
and  have  repaired  his  own  imprudence  by  the  natural  resources  of 
his  genius.  In  a  battle  fought  on  the  twenty-sixth  of  June  (363), 
Julian,  having  exposed  himself  without  a  cuirass,  had  his  liver 
pierced  with  a  dart  thrown  by  an  unknown  hand.  He  was  carried 
back  to  his  tent  almost  senseless,  and,  notwithstanding  the  cares  of 
his  physicians,  expired  the  following  night,  at  the  age  of  thirty-one, 
after  a  reign  of  nearly  two  years.  According  to  some,  he  died  with 


^.D.363-3G4.  JOVIAN.  113 

great  apparent  composure  and  tranquillity ;  but  others*  relate  that, 
when  he  felt  himself  mortally  wounded,  he  threw  a  handful  of  his 
blood  towards  heaven,  uttering  these  blasphemous  words  against 
Christ :  "  Thou  hast  conquered,  O  Galilean  ;"  and  that  he  likewise 
upbraided  his  own  gods,  charging  them  with  ingratitude  in  his  regard. 

It  would  be  impossible  to  give  a  precise  outline  of  Julian's  charac- 
ter. It  was  a  most  singular  compound  of  some  good  and  many  bad 
qualities,  moderation  and  malice,  love  of  justice  and  blind  hatred, 
courage  and  temerity.  He  united  a  cultivated  genius  with  a  bigoted 
mind ;  he  was  a  slave  to  vanity  and  credulity,  superstitiously  attached 
to  the  meanest,  and  perhaps  also,  after  he  became  a  public  apostate 
to  the  most  abominable  practices  of  idolatry :  for  we  are  told  by  some 
grave  authorsf  that,  besides  an  incredible  number  of  animals,  he  like- 
wise sacrificed  human  victims,  for  the  purpose  of  discovering  future 
events  by  an  examination  of  their  palpitating  entrails.  In  a  word,- 
his  defects  were  real,  his  virtues  more  apparent  than  sincere,  his 
talents  more  brilliant  than  solid. 

The  only  genuine  qualities  perhaps  that  Julian  possessed,  were  his 
intrepidity  in  war  and  the  talent  he  had  to  transform  his  soldiers  into 
heroes.  King  Sapor  did  not  cease  to  tremble  for  the  safety  of  his 
crown,  till  he  received  the  intelligence  of  the  emperor's  death.  He 
manifested  the  greatest  joy  on  being  apprized  of  it,  and  wished  to  re- 
ward the  soldier  by  whom  Julian  had  been  wounded;  but  no  one  pre- 
sented himself  to  receive  the  recompense. 


JOVIAN— A.  D.  363—364. 


MOST  distressing  was  the  situation  to  which  the  Romans  were  now 
reduced  in  the  midst  of  an  hostile  country,  without  food  and  deprived  of 
their  leader.  The  chief  officers  assembled  to  appoint  a  successor  to 
Julian,  and,  upon  the  refusal  of  Sallust,  prefect  of  the  East,  Jovian, 
one  of  the  commanders  in  the  imperial  guard,  was  proclaimed  emperor. 
After  a  slow  and  painful  march  for  several  days,  he  concluded  with 
the  Persians  a  disadvantageous  treaty  of  peace;  a  step  deemed  neces- 
sary to  save  the  army  from  starvation,  but  disgraceful  to  the  empire, 
which  lost,  by  this  means,  five  provinces  and  the  best  towns  of  Me- 
sopotamia. Such  was  the  result  of  Julian's  imprudence  and  temerity. 

Although  the  Romans,  in  their  retreat,  were  no  longer  interrupted 
by  the  enemy,  still  they  encountered  many  dangers,  especially  when 
they  undertook  to  recross  the  Tigris;  and  their  march  continued  difli- 

*  Theodoret,  Sozomen,  etc. 

f  Especially  Theodoret,  Hist.  Eccl.  lib.  in,  c.  21. 
10* 


114  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Part  II. 


cult  and  harassing,  until  they  reached  their  own  territory.  Jovian, 
on  his  arrival  at  Antioch,  immediately  turned  his  attention  to  the  go- 
vernment of  the  state,  and  the  restoration  of  peace  to  the  Church.  He 
had,  even  during  the  storms  of  the  two  preceding  reigns,  always 
adhered  to  the  orthodox  faith,  and  anxious  to  maintain  it  in  others,  he 
labored  to  heal  the  wounds  inflicted  by  Julian  on  Christianity  in  gene- 
ral, and  by  Constantius  on  the  Catholics.  His  excellent  intentions 
and  many  good  qualities,  though  less  dazzling  than  those  of  Julian, 
promised  a  prosperous  reign  ;  but,  having  set  out  from  Antioch  in  the 
dead  of  winter,  he  was  found  lifeless  in  his  room  (February  364), 
before  he  could  reach  Constantinople.  The  cause  of  his  death  was 
never  ascertained ;  but  the  most  common  opinion  is  that  he  inhaled 
the  fumes  of  charcoal.  Jovian  had  lived  thirty-three  years,  and 
reigned  eight  months. 


VALENTINIAN  AND  VALENS— A.  D.  364—378. 

THE  army  set  about  a  new  election,  and  proclaimed  emperor,  Va- 
lentinian,  an  officer  of  distinguished  merit.  His  noble  size  and  fea- 
tures gave  him  a  warlike  and  majestic  appearance;  he  was  renowned 
for  prudence,  valor,  learning,  sincere  attachment  to  religion  and  great 
love  of  justice.  Pure  in  his  morals,  grave  in  his  deportment,  he 
spoke  little,  but  always  with  great  judgment  and  natural  eloquence. 
Unhappily,  these  truly  valuable  qualities  of  body  and  mind  were  tar- 
nished in  him  by  some  notable  defects,  such  as  violence  of  temper 
and  excessive  severity,  whence  finally  arose  the  painful  accident 
which  terminated  his  life. 

Valentinian  had  no  sooner  assumed  the  purple,  than  he  associated 
to  himself  his  brother  Valens  in  the  government  of  the  empire.  Still, 
before  publicly  declaring  his  intentions,  he  consulted  his  chief  officers 
on  the  subject.  All  remained  silent,  except  one,  who  was  generous 
enough  to  say :  "  Prince,  if  you  love  your  family,  you  may  choose 
your  brother;  if  you  love  the  stale,  select  the  fittest  man  for  so  great 
a  dignity."  This  advice  struck  the  emperor;  hoAvever,  he  persisted 
in  his  design,  and  declared  Valens  his  colleague.  He  allotted  to  him 
the  provinces  of  Asia,  with  Egypt  and  Thrace,  and  kept  for  himself 
the  other  provinces  situated  in  Africa  and  Europe. 

Valentinian  governed  his  portion  of  the  empire  with  vigor  and 
firmness.  Making  his  residence,  sometimes  in  Milan,  sometimes  in 
Triers,  Paris  or  Rheims,  he  was  always  ready  to  defend  his  frontiers, 
and  to  repel  the  attacks  of  the  barbarians  posted  beyond  the  Rhine 


A.  r.  364-378.    VALENTINIAN    AND    VALENS.  115 

and  the  Danube.    He  kept  in  constant  awe  the  restless  tribes  of  Ger- 
many, and  triumphed  over  them  in  every  battle. 

But,  whilst  his  bravery  and  military  science  struck  terror  into  the 
minds  of  the  barbarians,  his  irascible  humor  was  almost  equally 
dreaded  by  his  own  subjects,  till  in  the  end  it  proved  fatal  to  himself. 
The  Q,uadi,  a  poor  and  timid  nation,  having  incurred  his  displeasure, 
sent  ambassadors  to  appease  his  anger  by  an  humble  apology.  Va- 
lentinian  was  offended  at  the  mean  appearance  of  the  ambassadors, 
and  exclaimed  that  it  was  a  shame  for  the  empire  and  the  emperor, 
that  he  had  to  treat  with  such  ill-looking  people.  He  spoke  with 
such  warmth  and  passion,  that  he  broke  a  large  blood-vessel,  and  fell 
senseless  to  the  ground,  his  blood  gushing  forth  abundantly  from  his 
mouth.  A  few  hours  after,  he  expired  in  great  pain,  at  the  age  of 
fifty-four,  after  a  reign  of  nearly  twelve  years  (A.  n.  375),  leaving  his 
sceptre  to  his  sons  Gratian  and  Valentinian  II. 

The  East  was  still  under  the  sway  of  his  brother  Valens,  a  prince 
of  good  morals  and  steadfast  in  his  friendship ;  but  at  the  same  time 
indolent,  without  genius  and  experience,  often  suffering  his  ministers 
to  make  a  tyrannical  use  of  his  authority.  He  showed.no  energy  ex- 
cept in  protecting  the  Aiians  and  cruelly  persecuting  the  Catholics. 
But  the  faith  of  the  latter  was  successfully  defended  by  the  illustrious 
doctors  St.  Gregory  Nazianzen  and  his  intimate  friend  St.  Basil, 
archbishop  of  Csesarea,  against  whom  all  the  emperor's  efforts  proved 
fruitless. 

With  regard  to  military  achievements,  Valens,  by  the  skill  of  his 
generals  and  the  bravery  of  his  troops,  conducted,  with  considerable 
success,  several  campaigns  against  the  Goths,  the  Persians,  and  the 
usurper  Procopius,  who,  after  many  vicissitudes  of  fortune,  was  be- 
trayed by  his  own  friends,  delivered  up  to  the  emperor,  and  behead- 
ed. But  the  last  expedition  of  this  prince  had,  through  his  own 
fault,  a  quite  different  result.  Numerous  bodies  of  Huns,  a  barbarous 
people  from  the  north  of  Asia,  were  at  that  time  driving  before  them 
all  the  tribes  whom  they  met  in  their  devastating  course.  Two  hun- 
dred thousand  Goths,  finding  themselves  more  and  more  harassed  by 
these  formidable  enemies,  asked  and  obtained  of  Valens  leave  to  cross 
the  Danube,  and  to  settle  in  Thrace  as  subjects  or  allies.  They  were 
followed  by  other  bodies  of  their  countrymen  whom  it  was  not  pos- 
sible to  keep  afar  off  on  the  other  side  of  the  river;  and  the  Roman 
officers  stationed  on  the  frontier  were  at  the  same  time  so  impru- 
dent and  inhuman,  as  to  exasperate  by  ill-treatment  that  immense 
multitude  dying  with  hunger  and  supplied  with  arms.  They  revolt 
ed  against  their  oppressors,  and,  being  excited  both  by  distress  and 
the  desire  of  revenge,  they  began  to  overrun  the  country  and  pur 
every  thing  to  fire  and  sword. 


116  MODERN   HISTORY  Pan  n 

The  generals  of  Valens  endeavored,  but  too  late,  to  stern  this  tor- 
rent. Several  bloody  battles  were  fought  to  no  purpose;  and  the 
emperor,  not  satisfied  with  the  result,  judged  it  necessary  to  repair 
in  person  to  the  field,  and  put  himself  at  the  head  of  hip  troops. 
This  step  served  only  to  increase  the  danger ;  for  the  commander  of 
the  Goths,  Fritigern,  was  an  able  and  experienced  general;  whilst 
Valens  had  neither  ability  nor  prudenceW-Instead  of  waiting  for  the 
arrival  of  his  nephew  Gratian,  who,  after  gaining  a  great  victory 
over  the  Germans,  hastened  to  his  assistance,  the  unwary  prince, 
contrary,  to  the  advice  of  his  best  officers,  marched  with  precipitancy 
and  confusion  against  the  enemy;  and,  with  troops  harassed  by 
fatigue,  commenced  near  Adrianople  a  battle  more  disastrous,  it  is 
believed,  than  any  that  the  Romans  had  ever  fought  from  the  time 
of  their  defeat  at  Cannae  by  Annibal.  Here  also  they  experienced  a 
most  signal  overthrow,  and  lost  nearly  their  whole  army,  with  an 
incredible  multitude  of  chief  officers,  and  the  emperor  himself,  whose 
body  could  never  be  found.  According  to  common  report,  he  was 
wounded,  and  carried  in  that  state  to  a  hut,  which  the  Goths,  not 
knowing  who  was  in  it,  set  on  fire;  and  Valens  perished  in  the 
flames.  He  had  reigned  about  fifteen,  and  lived  nearly  fifty  years 
(A.  D.  378). 


THEODOSIUS  I,  SURNAMED    THE    GREAT.— GRATIAN  AND 
VALENTINIAN  II.— 379— 395. 


THE  Roman  empire  had  perhaps  never  been  so  much  exposed  to 
the  danger  of  total  ruin,  as  immediately  after  the  battle  of  Adriano- 
ple. Though  the  Goths  were  unsuccessful  in  their  attacks  upon  that 
and  some  other  towns,  they  together  with  the  Huns  and  Alans  con- 
tinued with  impunity,  to  plunder,  waste  and  destroy  every  thing  in 
Thrace,  Illyria  and  the  neighboring  provinces.  The  Suevi,  Aleman- 
ni  and  Franks  were  at  the  same  time  preparing  to  invade  Gaul,  and 
the  provinces  of  Asia  were  also  threatened  with  new  attacks  from 
the  Persians.  Gratian,  upon  whom  the  whole  burden  of  the  gov- 
ernment devolved  by  the  death  of  his  uncle  Valens,  was  fully  aware 
that  he  could  not  by  himself  repel  so  many  enemies,  nor  could  he 
as  yet  derive  any  assistance  from  his  brother  Valentinian,  a  child 
seven  or  eight  years  of  age.  Standing  in  need  of  more  powerful  suc- 
cor, he  was  candid  enough  to  declare  his  situation  before  all  the 
world,  and  wise  enough  to  choose  as  his  associate  the  ablest  man  of 
the  empire,  viz :  the  great  Theodosius,  with  whose  name  is  associ 
ated  the  recollection  of  every  civil,  religious  and  military  virtue. 


A  D.  379-395. 


THEODOSIUS    THE    GREAT.  117 


Theodosiu3  was  a  native  of  Spain,  and  son  of  the  celebrated  Count 
Theodosius,  who,  after  having,  by  his  brilliant  campaigns  under 
Valentinian  I,  saved  Great  Britain  and  Africa  from  powerful  inva- 
ders, had  lately  perished  on  a  scaffold  at  Carthage,  the  victim  of  an 
atrocious  and  artful  calumny.  Previously  to  this  melancholy  trans- 
action, his  son  had  on  several  occasions,  displayed  great  military 
talents;  but,  after  the  tragical  death  of  his  father,  he  led  a  retired  life 
in  his  native  country ;  until  Gratian  called  him  back  to  court,  and 
offered  him  the  purple,  which  he  at  first  refused  through  sincere 
modesty,  but  afterwards  accepted  through  a  pure  motive  of  obedi- 
ence. It  was  agreed  among  them  that  he  should  rule  over  the 
East,  Gratian  reserving  the  West  for  himself  and  his  young  brother 
Valentinian. 

The  accesion  of  Theodosius  almost  instantaneously  changed  the 
desperate  state  of  affairs,  and  gave  a  salutary  check  to  the  inroads  of 
the  barbarians.  The  Goths  were  the  first  who  experienced  the  effects 
of  his  indignation  and  invincible  bravery.  He  obliged  them  either  to 
surrender,  or  retire  beyond  the  Danube.  The  Huns  and  the  Alans 
were  soon  compelled  to  do  the  same ;  the  Persians,  informed  of  his 
rapid  exploits,  sued  for  peace ;  and,  in  a  few  years,  the  name  of 
Theodosius  was  respected  throughout  the  world. 

He  availed  himself  of  the  tranquillity  which  followed  his  victories, 
to  enact  several  admirable  laws,  conducive  alike  to  the  prosperity  of 
the  state  at  large,  to  the  repression  of  vice  and  the  advancement  of 
good  morals  among  private  individuals,  to  the  security  of  life  and  pro- 
perty, etc.  All  his  legislation  breathes,  as  it  were,  an  ardent  love  of  the 
public  good,  of  justice  and  religion,  happily  blended  with  a  dignified 
clemency  towards  those  who  might  possibly  offer  him  personal  in- 
sults, by  outrageous  language  against  his  person,  conduct  and  go- 
vernment. "If  such  persons,"  said  he  in  one  of  his  rescripts,  "  act 
and  speak  thus  through  levity,  we  should  disregard  their  fault;  if 
their  conduct  proceeds  from  blindness  and  folly,  we  should  pity 
them ;  if  from  ill-will  and  malice,  we  should  forgive  them."  His 
heart  was  so  inclined  to  benevolence,  that,  once  dismissing  several 
prisoners,  he  exclaimed:  "  O  that  I  could  restore  the  dead  to  life!" 

Theodosius  endeavored  likewise  during  the  whole  course  of  his 
reign,  to  promote,  by  wise  and  prudent  means,  the  advancement  of 
true  piety,  and  of  the  orthodox  faith  which  he  sincerely  professed. 
Arianism,  not  being  able  to  obtain  the  least  favor  from  so  religious  a 
prince,  rapidly  dwindled  into  insignificance.  The  Macedonian  here- 
ey  against  the  divinity  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  was  solemnly  condemned 
by  the  second  general  Council,  held  under  his  patronage  at  Constan- 
tinople (A.  D.  381).  In  fine,  the  pious  efforts  of  the  emperor  gave  the 
deadly  blow  to  heathenism,  and  his  zeal,  equally  mild  and  firm,  judi- 


118  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Part  II. 


cious  and  constant,  was  not  satisfied  until  the  public  worship  of  idols 
disappeared  from  his  dominions. 

The  example  of  Theodosius  was  in  most  respects  faithfully  imi- 
tated by  Gratian,  the  emperor  of  the  West.  This  prince,  although 
very  young,  would  perhaps  have  become  equal  to  his  virtuous  col- 
league in  glory  and  wisdom,  had  it  not  been  for  a  single  defect, 
which  being  disregarded,  tarnished  the  lustre  of  his  excellent  quali- 
ties, and  brought  upon  him  a  terrible  disaster.  Being  excessively 
fond  of  hunting,  the  natural  consequence  was  that  he  paid  little  atten- 
tion to  the  affairs  of  his  court,  where  discontent  began  to  prevail,  at 
the  sight  of  the  honors  and  benefits  conferred  upon  strangers.  Maxi- 
mus,  one  of  the  chief  officers  in  Great  Britain,  caused  himself  to  be 
proclaimed  emperor  by  some  of  the  soldiers;  nor  did  the  defection 
confine  itself  to  that  island,  but  passing  over  to  the  continent,  it  spread 
among  the  legions  of  Gaul  with  such  rapidity,  that  in  a  few  weeks 
Gratian  saw  himself  abandoned  by  nearly  all  his  troops.  No  other 
resource  was  now  left  him  than  a  precipitate  flight ;  and  even  that 
proved  insufficient  to  save  him  from  the  hands  of  his  enemies:  he 
was  overtaken  at  Lyons,  and  cruelly  murdered  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
four,  after  a  reign  of  eight  years  (A.  D.  383). 

Maximus  abstained  for  a  time  from  pursuing  his  audacious  and 
ambitious  career ;  fixing  his  residence  in  Triers,  he  contented  himself 
with  reigning  over  the  provinces  which  Gratian  had  governed.  Still, 
he  was  making  slow  and  powerful  preparations  to  oppress  young 
Valentinian  in  Italy,  as  he  had  done  his  brother  in  Gaul;  but  Valen- 
tinian  having  received  timely  warning  of  the  designs  of  his  enemy, 
fled  in  full  speed  to  Thessalonica,  persuaded  that  he  would  find  a 
zealous  protector  in  Theodosius.  His  hopes  were  not  deceived: 
Theodosius  received  him  with  open  arms,  and  marched  with  him,  at 
the  head  of  his  army,  against  Maximus,  who  was  coming  forward 
to  meet  them,  with  more  boldness  than  prudence.  One  single  and 
short  campaign  terminated  the  contest.  The  numerous  troops  of  the 
usurper  were  conquered  in  two  battles,  and  he  himself  being  taken 
prisoner  in  Aquileia,  whither  he  had  retired  after  the  second  engage- 
ment, was  led  to  Theodosius,  with  his  hands  tied  behind  him.  At 
the  sight  of  his  captive,  the  generous  conqueror  felt  inclined  to  com- 
passion and  forgiveness ;  but  his  officers,  less  indulgent,  led  Maxi- 
mus away,  and  immediately  beheaded  him.  No  search  was  made 
after  his  partisans,  and  Theodosius  added  to  the  dominions  of  Valen- 
tinian those  of  his  brother  Gratian  (A.  D.  388).— ^ — 

About  the  same  time,  he  gave  to  all  future  generations  a  most  ad- 
mirable example  of  clemency.  A  great  sedition  having  burst  forth, 
in  Antioch,  the  people  carried  their  insolence  so  far  as  to  break  to 
pieces  the  statues  of  the  emperor  and  of  his  family.  Theodosius, 


A.  D.  379-395.         THEODOSIUS    THE    GREAT.  119 

justly  irritated  against  an  ungrateful  city  on  which  he  had  bestowed 
many  signal  favors,  sent  two  commissaries,  with  orders  to  punish 
the  leaders  of  the  seditious  riot,  to  deprive  Antioch  of  its  privi- 
leges, and  to  degrade  that  proud  capital  of  Syria  to  the  low  rank  of  a 
simple  borough. 

The  arrival  of  the  two  commissaries  spread  terror  through  the 
town.  The  most  guilty  of  the  inhabitants  were  arrested,  and  put  in 
confinement;  however,  the  sorrowful  multitude,  together  with  the 
clergy,  obtained  by  their  supplications  and  tears,  that  the  punishment 
should  be  postponed.  The  venerable  bishop  Flavian  had  already  set 
out  for  Constantinople,  in  order  to  allay,  if  possible,  the  indignation 
of  Theodosius.  The  first  time  he  was  introduced  before  him,  he 
remained  at  some  distance,  with  his  eyes  cast  down,  and  observing  a 
mournful  silence.  The  emperor,  whose  heart  was  not  less  afflicted, 
approached  the  bishop,  and  with  strong  but  tender  reproaches,  expa- 
tiated on  the  ingratitude  of  his  countrymen.  Flavian,  being  then 
emboldened  to  speak,  acknowledged  both  the  enormity  of  the  crime 
and  the  justice  of  any  punishment  that  might  be  inflicted  on  its  au- 
thors ;  but  he  afterwards  so  eloquently  described  and  extolled  the  ad- 
vantages of  the  forgiveness  of  injuries,  that  the  emperor,  unable  any 
longer  to  restrain  his  tears,  cried  out  that  he  willingly  pardoned  An- 
tioch, after  the  example  of  Christ  who  had  forgiven  his  very  execu- 
tioners. The  pardon  was  entire,  unreserved,  and  did  infinite  honor 
to  the  clemency  of  Theodosius. 

Three  years  after,  on  a  similar  occasion,  he  appeared  to  forget  his 
own  principles.  The  populace  of  Thessalonica,  in  a  tumultuous 
insurrection,  stoned  their  governor  to  death :  Theodosius,  who  therK/ 
resided  at  Milan,  was  so  indignant  at  this  outrage,  that  he  issued  A^ 
warrant  for  the  soldiery  to  be  let  loose  on  the  inhabitants  of  Thessa- 
lonica during  three  hours,  and  the  commission  was  executed  with 
such  fury,  that  seven  thousand  persons  were  put  to  the  sword.  No 
sooner  was  the  holy  archbishop  of  Milan,  St.  Ambrose,  informed  of 
the  awful  deed,  than  he  declared  to  the  emperor  that  he  could  not 
admit  him  into  the  Church,  nor  to  the  participation  of  the  sacred 
mysteries,  until  he  had  atoned,  by  an  exemplary  penance,  for  the 
enormity  of  the  massacre  lately  committed.  Theodosius  humbly 
submitted  to  the  decision  of  the  holy  prelate,  and  remained  thus  ex- 
cluded from  the  Church  for  eight  months,  at  the  end  of  which  time 
St.  Ambrose,  moved  by  his  tears  and  lively  repentance,  again  admit- 
ted him;  on  condition,  however,  that  he  would  ever  after,  in  order  to  . 
avoid  similar  faults,  postpone  for  thirty  days  the  execution  even  of 
just  sentences  of  death.  Theodosius  willingly  yielded  to  the  propo- 
sal, and,  by  this  docility,  left  it  uncertain  which  is  more  worthy  of 


120  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Part  II, 


admiration,   the   firmness   of  the   archbishop   or  the  piety   of  the 
emperor. 

I  This  prince  was  scarcely  returned  to  Constantinople,  when  a  fresh 
and  disastrous  revolution,  caused  by  the  murder  of  Valentinian  II, 
obliged  him  to  make  a  new  expedition  into  the  West.  That  young 
emperor,  trained  up  to  virtue  by  the  instructions  and  examples  of 
Theodosius,  knew  already  how  to  conduct  himself  with  great  wis- 
dom, and  gave  every  day  greater  hopes  of  a  fortunate  and  glorious 
reign.  Being  told  that  some  suspicions,  though  ill-founded,  were 
entertained  concerning  his  morals,  he  dismissed  without  delay  the 
persons  whose  society  might  become  dangerous  for  his  virtue.  He 
overcame  his  excessive  relish  for  the  games  and  shows  of  the  circus, 
by  abolishing  the  games,  and  causing  all  the  beasts  destined  for  them  or 
for  the  chase,  to  be  killed  on  the  same  day.  Although  he  had  found 
the  treasury  exhausted,  no  solicitation  of  his  courtiers  could  ever  in- 
duce him  to  augment  the  taxes.  His  conduct  obtained  respect  even 
from  the  barbarians,  and  he  was  endeavoring  by  every  means  in  liis 
power  to  procure  abundance  and  tranquillity  to  his  subjects,  when  a 
cruel  plot  contrived  by  Arbogastes,  the  general  of  his  troops,  deprived 
him  of  the  empire  and  of  life,  at  the  age  of  twenty,  after  a  reign  of 
nine  years  since  the  death  of  Gratian  (A.  D.  392). 

Intense  was  the  affliction  of  Theodosius,  when  he  learned  the 
melancholy  fate  of  this  excellent  prince,  his  brother-in-law,  his  part- 
ner in  the  empire,  and  his  sincere  friend.  Justice,  humanity  and  con- 
science obliging  him  to  avenge  the  death  of  Valentinian  and  punish 
the  murderers,  he  spent  two  years  in  making  adequate  preparations 
for  this  new  expedition,  which  he  justly  supposed  would  be  difficult 
and  bloody ;  for  Arbogastes  had  a  great  reputation  for  skill  in  war, 
and  a  strong  party  on  his  side.  Still,  being  of  barbarian  extraction, 
he  did  not  dare  assume  the  imperial  sceptre  himself,  but  placed  it  in 
the  hands  of  a  certain  Eugenius,  a  proud,  ambitious  man,  who  had 
been  a  secretary  of  the  late  emperor,  and  had  taken  part  in  his  assas- 
sination. 

The  two  armies  advanced  against  each  other,  the  one  from  Gaul, 
under  the  command  of  the  two  usurpers,  who  had  the  images  of  the 
false  gods  carried  before  them;  the  other  from  Thrace,  under  the  ban- 
ner of  the  cross,  and  commanded  by  Theodosius  in  person.  They 
met  in  the  northeast  of  Italy,  at  the  distance  of  about  thirty  miles 
from  Aquileia.  Here  a  general  engagement  took  place,  which  the 
importance  of  the  cause,  the  number  and  discipline  of  the  troops,  the 
heroic  intrepidity  of  Theodosius  and  the  desperate  courage  of  Ar- 
bogastes, rendered  extremely  furious  and  obstinate.  It  lasted  two 
days,  the  first  of  which,  without  giving  to  either  party  any  decisive 
loss  or  advantage,  beheld  a  tremendous  liavoc  of  the  bravest  troops 


A.  D.  7T9-395.         THEODOSIUS  THE  GREAT.  121 

of  Theodosius.  The  pious  emperor  spent  the  following  night  in 
prayer,  placing  his  confidence  in  God  whose  cause  he  supported, 
more  than  in  all  the  exertions  of  his  ability  and  valor.  At  the  dawn 
of  day,  he  again  drew  up  his  army,  and,  taking  his  shield  and  cui- 
rass, marched  out  with  ardor  against  the  enemy. 

This  was  the  moment  which  heaven  had  chosen,  in  order  to  de- 
clare visibly  in  his  favor.  On  a  sudden,  frightful  whirlwinds  arose, 
which  directed  all  their  violence  against  the  rebels,  broke  their  ranks, 
and  forced  their  shields  from  their  hands.  Their  arrows  turned 
against  themselves,  whilst  those  of  their  opponents  received  addi- 
tional force  from  the  wind.*  Thus  exposed,  blinded  by  the  dust,  and 
overpowered  by  the  storm,  they  either  fell  on  the  field  of  battle,  or 
threw  themselves,  in  their  flight,  into  a  neighboring  river.  Arbogas- 
tes,  seeing  that  all  was  lost,  stabbed  himself,  and  died  in  rage  and  de- 
spair. Eugenius  was  brought  in  chains  by  his  own  soldiers  before 
Theodosius,  who  presently  condemned  him  to  death;  but  the  generous 
conqueror  pardoned  all  the  others  of  their  party.  The  slaughter 
ceased,  and  the  two  armies  mingled  together,  exulting  with  joy,  one 
for  its  victory,  the  other  for  its  defeat,  and  both  looking  on  their  pious 
emperor  as  really  invincible. 

This  memorable  battle,  which  was  fought  on  the  6th  of  Septem 
ber  (A.  D.  394),  subjected  all  the  West  to  Theodosius.  He  lived  but  a 
short  time  after  this  glorious  triumph  over  his  enemies:  continual 
labors  and  hardships,  especially  at  the  head  of  armies,  had  exhausted 
his  constitution,  and,  after  lingering  for  some  weeks,  he  died  in  the 
middle  of  the  following  January  (A.  D.  395),  at  the  age  of  fifty,  after 
a  reign  of  sixteen  years.  This  was  the  last  reign  which  saw  all  the 
parts  of  the  Roman  empire  united  under  the  sway  of  the  same  sove- 
reign. At  the  solemn  service  performed,  according  to  custom,  for  his 

*  See  Socrates,  Eccles.  Hist.  lib.  V,  c.  25;— Sozomen,  lib.  VII,  c.  24;— 
Orosius,  lib.  VII,  c.  3; — Theodoret,  lib.  v.  c.  24;  especially  St.  Augustine, 
who  had  learned  the  fact  in  question  from  the  very  soldiers  of  Eugenius 
that  had  been  present  at  the  battle,  as  he  himself  relates  in  these  terms : 
"  Milites  nobis,  qui  aderant,  retulerunt,  extorta  sibi  esse  de  manibus  quae« 
cumque  jaciebantur,  cum  a  Theodosii  partibus  vehemens  ventus  iret,  et 
non  solum  quaecumque  in  eos  jaciebantur  concitatissime  raperet,  veruia 
etiairi  ipsorum  tela  in  eorum  corpora  retorqueret ;"  De  Civitate  Dei,  lib 
V,  c.  26.  In  fine,  the  poet  Claudian,  though  a  heathen,  describes  the 
same  thus,  in  his  poem  on  the  third  consulship  of  the  young  emperor  Ho 
non  us: 

Te  propter,  gelidis  aquilo  de  monte  procellis 
Obruit  adversas  acies,  revolutaque  tela 
Vertit  in  auctores,  et  turbine  reppulit  hastas. 
O  nimium  dilecte  Deo,  cui  fundit  ab  antris 
^Eolus  armatas  hiemes ;  cui  militat  aether, 
Et  conjurati  veniunt  ad  classica  venti! 

n 


122  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Part  II, 


departed  soul,  St.  Ambrose  delivered  the  funeral  oration  in  presence 
of  the  whole  army:  after  which,  his  body  was  transferred  to  Con- 
stantinople, and  deposited  in  the  Mausoleum  of  the  great  Constantine, 
with  whom  he  shares  in  the  just  praises  and  admiration  of  posterity. 

In  fact,  every  public  achievement  of  this  emperor  would  suffice  to 
illustrate  a  long  reign.  He  restored  the  majesty  of  the  empire,  made 
ihe  people  under  him  constantly  happy,  and  conquered  all  his  ene- 
mies, who  were  equally  the  enemies  of  the  state.  He  subdued  the 
Goths,  drove  back  the  Huns  and  Sarmatians,  kept  the  Persians  in 
constant  awe,  overcame  two  powerful  usurpers,  checked  the  Arian 
and  Macedonian  heresies,  almost  completed  the  destruction  of  idol- 
atry without  shedding  a  drop  of  blood,  and  published  a  great  num- 
ber of  laws  so  wise  and  excellent,  as  to  place  him  far  above  the 
wisest  legislators  of  antiquity.  Having  nothing  in  view  but  the  hap- 
piness of  mankind,  he  commanded  by  a  formal  edict,  that,  on  Easter- 
day,  all  persons  detained  in  prison,  whose  dismission  would  not  en- 
danger the  interest  and  good  order  of  society,  should  be  set  at  liberty; 
and  it  was  on  this  occasion  that  he  added  the  memorable  words  al- 
ready mentioned:  "O  that  I  could  even  raise  the  dead  to  life!" 

In  his  countenance  and  all  his  deportment,  Theodosius  was  digni- 
fied, but  at  the  same  time,  cheerful,  mild,  courteous  and  affable.  He 
always  kept  himself  free,  not  only  from  gross  vices,  but  even  from 
those  which  most  easily  find  admission  to  the  heart,  such  as  ambition 
and  vain  glory ;  he  never  undertook  any  war,  unless  through  necessity, 
and  though  eminently  skilled  and  successful  in  the  command  of  ar- 
mies, always  blamed  the  proud  spirit  of  Marius,  Sylla,  and  other  such 
conquerors,  whom  he  said  it  should  be  his  constant  endeavor  to  re- 
semble as  little  as  possible.  His  inclinations  were  naturally  violent, 
but  kept  under  restraint;  and,  if  he  committed  any  fault  contrary  to 
his  usual  clemency  and  meekness,  he  soon  repaired  it  in  a  manner 
which  did  honor  to  his  character.  Hence  the  Holy  Fathers,  eccle- 
siastical authors  and  councils,  are  unanimous  in  proposing  Theodo- 
sius as  a  model  for  Christian  princes.  Pagan  writers  themselves, 
with  the  exception  of  the  furious  Zozimus,  agree  in  praising  his  ex- 
traordinary merit  and  qualifications;  Aurelius  Victor,  in  particular, 
does  not  hesitate  to  represent  him  as  an  accomplished  hero,  far  supe- 
rior to  Trajan,  whose  eminent  qualities  he  possessed  without  any  of 
his  vices.  The  same  historian  adds  that  the  virtue  of  TheodositiB 
continually  increased  with  his  prosperity  and  victories;  a  praise 
which,  to  every  reflecting  mind,  must  appear  the  most  honorable  en- 
comium. 


A.  D.  395-423.  HONORIUS,  ETC.  123 


HONORIUS  AND  ARCADIUS.— A.  D.  395—423. 


FROM  the  death  of  Theodosius  must  be  dated  the  final  decline  of 
the  empire.  He  had  maintained  it  in  its  former  greatness ;  he  left  it 
in  all  its  glory  to  his  sons  Honorius  and  Arcadius;  but  he  could 
not  transmit  to  these  young  princes  his  consummate  prudence,  valor 
and  ability.  Their  want  of  talent,  resolution  and  energy  left 
them  almost  constantly  exposed  to  the  insults  of  barbarians,  and  to 
the  ambitious  intrigues  of  their  own  ministers. 

Arcadius,  the  elder  of  the  two,  was  emperor  of  the  East.  His 
reign,  which  lasted  thirteen  years,  offers  nothing  remarkable,  except 
the  ravages  of  the  Huns  in  Thrace,  and  of  the  Isaurians  in  Lesser 
Asia;  the  power,  ambition  and  miserable  death  of  Rufinus,  Eutro- 
pius  and  Gainas,  who  successively  supplanted  each  other  at  court; 
and  the  unjust  persecution  carried  on  by  jealous  enemies  against  the 
illustrious  St.  John  Chrysostom,  archbishop  of  Constantinople,  who 
died  in  exile  (A.  D.  407),  after  having  filled  the  whole  world  with  the 
fame  of  his  golden  eloquence.  Arcadius  died  one  year  after  him, 
and  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Theodosius  the  younger. 

The  reign  of  Honorius  in  the  western  part  of  the  empire,  was 
longer  and  still  more  disastrous  than  that  of  his  brother  Arcadius. 
Its  various  calamities  originated  chiefly  in  the  vacillating  conduct  of 
his  prime  minister  Stilico,  who,  having  raised  himself  to  that  high 
station  by  important  services  under  Theodosius  afterwards  listened 
only  to  the  suggestions  of  his  unbounded  ambition ;  defending  or  be- 
traying the  state,  as  best  suited  his  own  interest.  At  first,  all  things 
were  prosperous  under  him;  he  destroyed  two  numerous  armies  of 
Goths  and  other  barbarians  who  had  invaded  Italy,  one  conducted 
by  Alaric,  whom  he  obliged  to  retreat  beyond  the  Alps  (A.  D.  402) ; 
the  other  commanded  by  Radagasius,  who  lost  nearly  all  his  troops 
and  was  himself  slain  near  Florence  (405). 

Soon  ifter  this  defeat,  other  hordes  of  barbarians  made  a  successful 
irruption  into  the  empire,  and  crossing  the  Rhine  (406),  began  to 
conquer  its  richest  provinces,  encouraged,  it  is  believed,  by  Stilico 
himself.  The  design  of  that  ambitious  man  seems  to  have  been  to 
throw  insuperable  difficulties  in  the  way  of  Honorius,  in  order  to 
undermine  his  power,  if  he  would  not  consent  to  resign  his  crown. 
To  convince  Honorius  of  the  plot  contrived  by  his  minister,  was  no 
easy  task;  at  length,  he  opened  his  eyes,  and  was  so  readily  seconded 
by  the  troops,  that  the  traitor  and  all  his  partisans  suffered  capital 
punishment,  most  of  them  however  without  the  orders  of  the  empe- 
ror, who  endeavored,  but  in  vain,  to  check  the  fury  of  the  soldiery. 


124  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Part  IT. 


The  detection  of  the  intrigues  of  Stilico  did  not  stop  the  progress 
of  the  Barbarians.  Whilst  the  Alemanni  on  the  one  side,  and  the 
Burgundians  on  the  other,  occupied  the  territories  along  the  Rhine, 
the  Suevi,  Alans  and  Vandals  proceeded  farther,  and  during  three 
successive  years  plundered  the  different  provinces  and  cities  of  Gaul. 
After  this,  in  409,  they  passed  over  to  Spain,  where  they  settled,  the 
Suevi  in  the  north,  the  Alans  in  the  west,  and  the  Vandals  in  the 
south,  the  eastern  part  only  being  left  to  the  Romans. 

But  the  most  formidable  of  all  the  enemies  of  Rome  was  Alaric, 
the  leader  of  the  Goths.  Driven  away  some  years  before,  he  re-en- 
tered Italy  with  an  ardent  desire  of  avenging  his  defeat.  Honorius 
and  his  court,  whose  residence  was  then  at  Ravenna  near  the  Adri- 
atic sea,  opposed  to  him  only  protracted  negotiations  and  ineffectual 
promises,  a  mode  of  defence  more  calculated  to  inflame  the  indigna- 
tion, than  to  check  the  progress  of  a  warlike  chieftain.  Rome  was 
besieged,  and  after  enduring  the  horrors  of  a  cruel  famine,  was  taken 
by  surprise  and  treason  during  the  night.  The  conqueror  gave  it  up 
to  be  plundered  by  his  soldiers,  who  accordingly  spreading  them- 
selves through  every  quarter  of  the  city,  soon  produced  a  scene  of 
general  desolation ;  many  buildings  were  fired,  and  a  furious  tempest 
served  at  the  same  time,  to  increase  the  devastation  spread  by  the 
barbarians  (A.  D.  410). 

Thus  did  Rome  lose,  in  the  space  of  a  few  hours,  that  power, 
splendor  and  magnificence  which  had  made  it,  for  so  mauy  ages,  the 
first  city  in  the  world.  Numbers  of  its  inhabitants  fled  in  all  direc- 
tions, even  to  the  most  distant  provinces,  carrying  every  where  the 
news  of  the  great  catastrophe  of  which  they  were  the  victims.  This 
event  was,  even  in  countries  the  most  remote,  a  subject  of  deep  grief; 
and  the  sight  of  so  many  illustrious  families  now  reduced  to  the 
utmost  distress,  excited  universal  commiseration,  as  St.  Augustine 
and  St.  Jerome  relate.*  Still  Rome,  not  having  been  totally  destroyed, 
continued  to  subsist,  and  even  repaired  in  a  great  measure  its  losses . 
but  being  once  debased  by  the  Goths,  it  became  a  sort  of  by-word 
among  other  barbarians,  and  its  majesty  as  capital  of  the  Roman 
empire,  had  departed  for  ever. 

Alaric  did  not  think  proper  to  retain  his  conquest,  but  setting  out 
after  a  few  days,  he  pursued  his  march  without  obstacle  towards  the 
southern  extremity  of  Italy.  His  intention  was,  to  pass  over  the  strait 
into  Sicily,  and  thence  to  Africa,  where  he  thought  he  could  obtain  a 

*  St.  August.  De  Civ.  Dei.  lib.  I,  c.  33 ;— St.  Jerome,  Epist .  ad  Principi- 
am,  et  lib.  Ill,  in  Ezech. — They  themselves  were  visited  by  several  of  these 
noble  fugitives ;  and  they  showed,  by  their  conduct  on  this  occasion,  that  the 
charity  which  animated  their  hearts,  was  not  less  admirable  than  the  genius 
and  learning  which  have  raised  them  to  the  first  rank  among  the  doctors  of 
the  Church. 


A.  u.  30>-423.  HONORIUS,    ETC.  125 

more  desirable  and  permanent  settlement;  but  a  violent  storm  coun- 
teracted his  measures,  and  death  put  an  end  to  all  his  designs.  He 
was  carried  off  by  a  violent  disease,  and  left  the  conduct  of  the  Goths 
to  Ataulphus,  his  brother-in-law,  and  the  faithful  companion  of  his 
victorious  campaigns.  His  followers  regretted  him  as  the  hero  of 
their  nation,  and  the  chief  author  of  the  great  power  and  influence 
which  they  had  acquired  in  western  Europe.  According  to  the  cus- 
tom of  northern  barbarians,  of  concealing  the  sepulchres  of  extraor- 
dinary men,  they  changed  for  a  while  the  course  of  a  small  river  near 
Cozenza,  and  having  dug  a  deep  grave  in  the  bed  of  the  channel, 
deposited  there  the  body  of  Alaric  with  many  valuable  objects,  and 
afterwards  made  the  waters  resume  their  former  course. 

The  Goths  now  returned  to  the  north  of  Italy,  and  advanced  into 
Gaul,  where  they  had  to  encounter  many  obstacles  in  their  endeavors 
to  effect  a  settlement :  at  length,  they  were  permitted  by  the  Romans, 
under  certain  conditions,  to  occupy  the  provinces  contiguous  to  the 
Pyrenees.  For  this  advantageous  treaty  the  Gothic  nation  was 
indebted  chiefly  to  the  abilities  of  king  Vallia,  the  third  successor  of 
Alaric. 

About  this  time  also,  the  Romans  began  to  lose  their  influence  in 
Great  Britain.  Honorius  having  recalled  from  that  distant  province 
its  legionary  troops  .whose  presence  was  necessary  to  repel  dangers 
nearer  home,  the  whole  country  remained  exposed  to  the  inroads  of 
the  Picts  and  Scots,  two  tribes  inhabiting  the  north  of  the  island. 
Some  troops,  it  is  true,  were  again  sent  to  assist  the  Britons  and 
drive  back  their  foes ;  but  as  these  succors  were  granted  only  for  a 
time,  the  restless  Picts  and  Scots  renewed  their  depredations  with 
success  and  perseverance  for  nearly  forty  years,  so  as  to  render  the 
country  as  miserable,  during  that  lime,  as  it  had  been  prosperous 
under  the  Romans. 

To  the  close  of  the  career  of  Honorius  many  writers  trace  back  the 
beginning  of  the  French  monarchy.  According  to  them,  the  Franks, 
a  powerful  German  tribe,  crossed  the  Rhine  in  the  year  420  with 
Pharamond  their  king,  and  wrested  the  north  of  Gaul  from  the  Ro- 
mans ;  but  others  believe  that  their  first  real  settlement  upon  the  Ro- 
man territories  must  be  referred  only  to  the  year  438  or  440,  during 
the  reign  of  King  Clodio.  Be  this  as  it  may,  it  is  certain  that  in  ge- 
neral the  affairs  of  the  empire,  during  the  latter  part  of  the  reign  of 
Honorius,  wore  a  more  favorable  appearance.  Several  provinces 
were  delivered  from  the  yoke  of  usurpation  and  tyranny,  and  a  suc- 
cessful check  was  given  for  a  time  to  the  progress  of  the  barbarians. 
The  principal  author  of  these  happy  changes  was  Constantius,  a  man 
of  uncommon  ability  and  virtue  which  he  displayed  during  ten  years 
by  the  prudence  with  which  he  directed  political  operations,  and  by 
11* 


126  MODERN     HISTORY. 


Parr.  IL 


the  glory  which  he  acquired  in  commanding  the  armies.  As  a  re- 
ward for  so  many  services,  Honorius,  besides  giving  him  his  sister 
Placidia  in  marriage,  conferred  on  him  the  title  of  Augustus,  a  title 
which  he  did  not  enjoy  more  than  seven  months;  he  received  it  in 
February,  and  died  in  the  following  September  (A.  D.  421).  Not  long 
after  (in  423,)  Honorius  himself  died  at  the  age  of  thirty-nine,  after  a 
reign  of  twenty-eight  years :  a  prince,  not  altogether  unworthy  of 
esteem,  if  we  consider  his  beneficent  intentions  and  private  virtues ; 
but  certainly  unfit,  from  his  want  of  resolution  and  capacity,  to  govern 
the  state,  especially  in  the  calamitous  and  disorderly  times  in  which 
he  lived. 


VALENTINIAN  III,  IN  THE  WEST;— IN  THE  EAST,  THEO- 
DOSIUS  II  OR  THE  YOUNGER.— A.  D.  424—455. 


THE  late  emperor  having  left  no  children,  his  crown  was,  with 
some  difficulty  transferred  to  young  Valentinian,  his  nephew,  the  son 
of  Placidia  and  Constantius.  This  young  prince  received  from  his 
mother  a  religious  education,  but  profited  so  little  by  it,  that  he  is 
more  known  in  history  for  his  effeminate  and  dissolute  life,  than  for 
any  active  share  that  he  took  in  the  important  transactions  of  his  reign. 

Theodosius  the  younger  still  reigned  in  the  East,  as  he  had  done 
since  the  death  of  his  father  Arcadius.  During  his  childhood,  the 
state  was  governed  first  by  the  prefect  Anthemius,  a  man  truly  de- 
serving of  his  high  office,  which  he  held  six  years.  This  able  min- 
ister repelled  foreign  invasions,  fortified  the  frontiers,  built  new  walls 
around  Constantinople,  and  procured  for  the  empire  a  profound 
peace.  Afterwards,  Theodosius  being  yet  too  young  and  inexperi- 
enced, the  governing  power  was  intrusted  to  his  sister  Pulcheria, 
who,  though  but  sixteen  years  old,  already  evinced  extraordinary 
prudence  and  a  vigor  of  mind  equal  to  her  piety.  At  home,  she  pre- 
served good  order  and  tranquillity,  and  at  the  same  time  caused  the 
Roman  name  to  be  respected  abroad.  A  new  war  having  become 
necessary  against  the  Persians,  all  its  operations  and  various  cam- 
paigns were  so  successfully  conducted,  that  King  Varanes  V  saw 
iiimself  obliged,  after  many  defeats,  to  consent  to  a  treaty  of  peace  on 
ihe  conditions  dictated  by  the  court  of  Constantinople. 

Unfortunately,  Theodosius  did  not  always  act  conformably  to  the 
views  and  counsels  of  his  sister,  but  suffered  his  mind  to  be  prepos- 
sessed against  her  by  the  intrigues  of  crafty  and  ambitious  persons, 
desirous  to  have  a  greater  share  in  the  government.  From  that  time, 
the  prosperity  of  the  state  rapidly  declined.  Many  provinces  were 


A.  0.  -124-455.  VALENTINIAN    III,    ETC.  127 

laid  waste  by  the  barbarians  on  different  sides,  and  the  honor  of  the 
empire  was  trampled  uncler  foot  by  Attila,  the  fierce  king  of  the 
Huns,  who  forced  Theodosius  to  pay  him  an  annual  tribute  equally 
onerous  and  disgraceful.  These  evils  originated  in  the  weakness  and 
indolence  of  the  emperor  himself;  for,  though  he  possessed  the  quali- 
fications of  a  good  scholar,  and  most  of  the  virtues  that  can  be  de- 
sired in  a  private  man,  he  knew  neither  how  to  govern  and  command, 
nor  how  to  choose  good  ministers  and  generals. 

The  West  from  a  variety  of  causes,  continued  still  to  be  the  theatre 
of  more  complicated  and  calamitous  events.  There  existed,  at  this 
time,  two  men  whose  talents  did  equal  honor  to  the  state,  viz., 
General  .ZEtius,  and  Count  Boniface,  governor  of  Africa.  The  for- 
mer was  justly  renowned  as  a  commander  and  a  politician,  but  so 
high-minded,  that  he  could  not  brook  the  idea  of  any  one  being  his 
equal  in  talents  and  glory.  The  latter,  as  brave  and  skilful  perhaps 
asuiEtius  himself,  surpassed  him  in  moderation  and  disinterestedness; 
still  he  had  not  fortitude  enough  to  submit  patiently  to  great  injustice. 

JEtius,  whose  design  was  to  ruin  Boniface,  secretly  wrote  to  him 
under  the  mask  of  friendship,  to  let  him  know  that  he  was  in  great 
danger;  the  empress  Placidia  being  now  so  incensed  against  him, 
that,  in  case  of  his  return  to  court,  his  death  would  inevitably  follow. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  artful  impostor  persuaded  the  empress  that 
Boniface  sought  to  make  himself  independent  in  Africa,  adding,  with 
great  protestations  of  zeal  for  her  interest,  that  the  only  prudent 
course  she  could  adopt  was  to  recall  him  without  delay,  and,  should 
he  refuse  to  obey  her  order,  to  treat  him  as  a  rebel. 

Placidia,  not  suspecting  any  treachery,  followed  this  advice  without 
further  inquiry.  Boniface  received  a  summons  to  leave  Africa;  but 
as  he  himself  entertained  strong  suspicions  of  the  designs  of  the  court, 
instead  of  obeying,  he  raised  troops  to  oppose  those  sent  against  him, 
and  thus,  by  the  very  means  which  he  selected  to  prove  his  inno- 
cence, became  really  guilty.  Not  long  after,  both  he  and  Placidia 
discovered  the  imposture  of  -ZEtius,  but  its  evil  consequences  were 
now  irreparable. 'Boniface  had  already  called  to  his  aid  and  intro- 
duced into  Africa  the  Vandals  of  Spain,  whom  he  could  not  after- 
wards expel,  when  he  returned  to  a  sense  of  his  duty.  These  barba- 
rians, having  at  their  head  Genseric,  a  warlike  and  sanguinary  prince, 
overran  the  whole  country  with  the  rapidity  of  a  torrent.  Those  rich 
and  fertile  provinces,  whose  inhabitants  had  provoked  by  their  cor- 
ruption and  vices  the  wrath  of  God,  were  soon  deluged  with  blood 
and  covered  with  ashes.  The  Vandals  established  in  the  midst  of  these 
ruins  of  the  Roman  power,  the  seat  of  their  own  domination,  which 
lasted  one  hundred  and  six  years  (from  428  to  534),  when  Africa 
was  restored  to  the  empire  by  the  arms  of  Belisanus. 


128  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Tart  1L 


In  the  meanwhile,,  the  empress  durst  not  punish  the  perfidy  of  ^Etius^ 
who  was  more  powerful  than  herself.  All  she  could  do  against  him 
was  to  bestow  new  dignities  and  all  possible  marks  of  distinction  on 
Count  Boniface,  with  whom  she  was  now  perfectly  reconciled.  This 
was  adding  fuel  to  the  flame ;  and,  as  /Etius  considered  the  increase 
of  authority  in  his  rival  as  derogatory  from  his  own,  the  two  generals 
took  the  field  in  support  of  their  respective  pretensions.  In  the  battle 
that  ensued,  Boniface  was  victorious;  but  his  success  cost  him  his 
life  :  he  received  a  dangerous  wound,  of  which  he  died  at  the  expira- 
tion of  three  months  (A.  D.  432). 

No  longer  seeing  a  rival  in  his  way,  ^Etius  thought  of  repairing, 
by  glorious  services,  the  disasters  which  his  jealousy  had  brought 
upon  the  state.  He,  from  that  time,  showed  himself  an  insuperable 
barrier  against  all  the  attacks  of  foreign  enemies,  defeated  the  Goths 
in  the  south  of  Gaul,  the  Franks  in  the  north,  and  other  barbarians 
near  the  frontiers  of  Germany  and  Italy.  Shortly  after  these  achieve- 
ments, a  new  and  most  furious  storm  arose  from  the  East,  which 
engaged  all  his  attention  and  required  all  the  exertions  of  his  courage. 

Attila,  king  of  the  Huns,  and  leader  of  an  immense  multitude  of 
barbarians  gathered  from  the  north  of  Asia  and  Europe,  intended  to 
ransom  and  plunder  the  western,  as  he  had  done  the  eastern  pro- 
vinces of  the  empire.  He  advanced  towards  Gaul  with  an  army  of 
five  hundred,  or,  according  to  some  authors,  of  seven  hundred  thou- 
sand men,  leaving  every  where  so  dreadful  marks  of  his  passage,  that 
he  was  justly  called,  and  called  himself  the  Scourge  of  God.  His 
very  countenance  was  terrific:  he  had  an  enormous  head,  small  and 
bright  eyes,  a  flat  nose,  a  swarthy  complexion,  and  he  appeared,  in 
all  his  deportment,  haughty,  fierce  and  threatening. 

In  the  year  451,  this  terrible  conqueror  crossed  the  Rhine,  and  pene- 
trated into  the  heart  of  Gaul,  sacking  and  burning  all  the  towns  in 
his  way.  At  last,  he  was  stopped  before  the  walls  of 'Orleans  by  a 
vigorous  and  lasting  resistance.  In  the  meanwhile,  ^Etius,  who  had 
induced  the  Visigoths  and  the  Franks  to  unite  with  him  against  the 
common  enemy,  was  hastening  to  the  relief  of  the  town;  he  arrived 
just  in  time  to  save  it  from  destruction.  The  Huns,  having  broken 
the  gates,  were  beginning  to  enter  and  plunder  the  city,  when  ^Etius, 
coming  from  the  opposite  direction,  suddenly  appeared  with  his  army, 
and  immediately  charged  the  barbarians.  Their  surprise  and  terror 
were  equal  to  the  suddenness  and  violence  of  the  attack.  Those  who 
had  already  lost  themselves  in  the  streets,  were  slain  or  compelled  to 
fly,  whilst  Atti'a,  foaming  with  rage,  endeavored  to  rally  the  fugitives 
without  the  city.  He  then  began  to  retreat  towards  the  Rhine; 
^Etius  closely  followed  him  at  the  head  of  his  troops  and  allies,  and 
overtook  him  in  the  vast  plains  of  Chalons  in  Champaigne. 


A.  D.  424-455.          VALENT1NIAN    III,    ETC.  129 

Europe  had  never  beheld  two  armies  so  numerous  as  these  in 
presence  of  one  another  ;  the  army  of  -ZEtius,  it  is  said,  was  almost 
equal  to  that  of  Attila.  The  whole  plain,,  as  far  as  the  eye  could 
reach,  being  filled  with  a  countless  multitude  of  battalions  bristling 
with  iron  and  brass,  exhibited  for  some  moments  a  most  imposing 
spectacle,  which  was  soon  changed  into  a  frightful  scene  by  the  fury 
of  the  combatants.  The  king  of  the  Huns  animated  his  troops  by 
word  and  example;  ^Sltius  displayed  that  consummate  skill  and 
intrepidity,  for  which  he  has  been  surnamed  the  last  of  the  Romans. 
Like  him,  his  soldiers  fought  with  wonderful  courage;  still,  it  ap- 
pears that  the  Visigoths  won,  on  that  famous  day,  the  prize  of  valor, 
and  had  the  principal  share  in  the  victory.  After  having  broken 
and  routed  the  enemy's  left  wing,  they  fell  with  such  irresistible  fury 
upon  the  centre  of  the  Huns,  that  Attila  himself  was  in  great  dan- 
ger. Frightened,  for  the  first  time  in  his  life,  he  abandoned  to  the 
Romans  and  their  allies  the  field  of  battle  strewed  with  one  hundred 
and  eighty  thousand,  some  say,  nearly  three  hundred  thousand  dead 
bodies.  Horrible  indeed  must  the  slaughter  have  been,  since,  accord- 
ing to  the  common  report  of  historians,  a  little  neighboring  stream 
was  swelled  like  a  torrent,  by  the  quantity  of  blood  which  flowed 
into  its  channel. 

The  battle  having  finished  only  at  dusk,  the  confederates  were  not 
certain  of  their  advantage  till  the  day  following.  The  joy  of  the  vic- 
tory which  they  had  gained  was  damped  by  the  consideration  of 
their  own  loss,  and  particularly  by  the  death  of  king  Theodoric,  who 
had  been  killed  whilst  bravely  fighting  at  the  head  of  his  Visigoths. 
His  body  was  found  among  heaps  of  the  slain,  and  buried  with  great 
honors  on  the  field  of  battle.  Then  ^tius  dismissed  his  allies,  in 
the  just  hope  that  the  Roman  militia  would  now  be  sufficient  to 
drive  the  enemy  from  Gaul;  nor  was  he  disappointed:  Attila,  though 
still  proud  and  eager  for  revenge,  removed  his  camp,  and  retired 
beyond  the  Rhine. 

No  later  than  the  ensuing  year  (452),  this  undaunted  conqueror 
reappeared,  and  revenged  himself  for  the  terrible  blow  he  had  re- 
ceived in  Gaul,  by  plundering  and  laying  waste  the  northern  part  of 
Italy.  He  first  laid  siege  to  the  important  and  well  fortified  city  of 
Aquileia.  This  celebrated  town  had,  fifty-two  years  before,  repelled 
the  combined  efforts  of  Radagasius  and  Alaric,  and  now  resisted  for 
three  months  all  the  attacks  of  Attila.  The  Huns  were  dispirited,  and 
their  leader  himself  began  to  think  of  abandoning  the  siege,  when  he 
perceived  storks  flying  with  their  little  ones  from  the  town  into  the 
country.  Struck  at  the  circumstance,  and  skilfully  turning  it  to  his 
advantage,  he  told  his  soldiers  that,  without  doubt,  the  precipitate  re- 
treat of  those  birds  from  Aquileia  was  an  omen  of  the  city's  impending 


130  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Fnrt  II 


ruin.  This  was  enough  to  revive  the  courage  of  the  Huns;  they 
renewed  the  attack  with  fresh  ardor,  battered  the  walls  with  all  their 
machines,  and  having  made  a  large  breach,  rushed  into  the  place 
with  a  fury  proportioned  to  the  resistance  which  they  had  experi- 
enced. The  garrison  and  inhabitants  were  either  put  to  the  sword 
or  reduced  to  slavery,  and  the  town  was  consigned  to  the  flames. 

This  conquest  enabled  the  Huns  to  advance  without  obstacle; 
^Itius,  whose  forces  were  now  quite  inferior  to  theirs,  did  not  dare 
oppose  the  march  of  the  main  body  of  their  troops,  but  contented 
himself  with  cutting  in  pieces  the  scouts  and  exploring  detachments. 
Pouring  into  the  fertile  plains  of  Italy,  they  destroyed  all  before  them 
with  fire  and  sword,  sacked  Milan,  destroyed  Padua  with  many 
other  cities,  and  depopulated  entire  provinces.  The  whole  country 
on  the  left  side  of  the  river  Po,  was  one  continued  scene  of  carnage 
and  devastation.  Such  of  the  inhabitants  as  had  time  to  avoid  this 
destructive  storm,  retired  into  the  small  islands  at  the  extremity  of 
the  Adriatic  Gulf,  where  they  laid  the  foundation  of  the  noble  city 
and  republic  of  Venice.  The  weak  emperor  Valentinian  was  on  the 
point  of  abandoning  Italy,  and  the  Romans,  in  the  utmost  terror, 
expected  soon  to  see  the  barbarians  before  their  gates. 

In  this  general  consternation,  Pope  St.  Leo,  at  the  request  of  the 
emperor  and  of  the  whole  city  of  Rome,  went  to  meet  Attila,  in 
hopes  of  mollifying  his  rage  and  preventing  his  further  progress. 
Avienus,  a  man  of  consular  dignity,  and  Trigetius,  who  had  been 
prefect  of  Rome,  were  deputed  to  accompany  him  in  this  embassy. 
They  found  the  haughty  monarch  at  Ambuleium  near  Mantua. 
Contrary  to  the  general  expectation,  he  received  the  Pope  with  great 
honor,  and  gave  him  a  favorable  audience :  St.  Leo,  on  his  part,  ad- 
dressed the  barbarian  with  so  much  energy,  eloquence  and  dignity, 
that  he  gained  the  admiration  of  all,  and  especially  of  Attila,  who, 
on  his  proposal,  concluded  a  treaty  of  peace  with  the  empire,  under 
the  condition  of  an  annual  tribute.  The  king  immediately  com- 
manded his  army  to  cease  hostilities,  and  soon  after  recrossed  the 
Alps,  to  retire  into  his  own  dominions  near  the  Danube ;  but,  on  his 
way  home,  he  was  seized  with  a  violent  vomiting  of  blood,  of  which 
he  died  in  453.  The  Huns  buried  him  with  the  same  honors  and 
precautions,  wherewith  the  Goths  had  buried  their  king  Alaric  forty- 
three  years  before.  As  to  the  vast  empire  which  that  extraordinary 
man  had  founded,  it  disappeared  with  him,  in  consequence  of  the 
civil  wars  that  broke  out  among  his  children  and  vassals. 

JEtius  did  not  outlive  him  more  than  one  year,  being  destroyed  by 
an  intrigue  similar  to  that,  which  he  himself  had  formerly  used 
against  Count  Boniface.  A  charge  of  conspiracy  having  been  se- 
cretly brought  against  him  at  court,  he  was  summoned  to  the  palace; 


A.  D.  45^-476.  MARCIAN,    ETC.  131 

he  obeyed,  and  on  his  arrival,  the  emperor  slew  him  with  a  sword. 
By  this  crime,  the  blind  and  wretched  Valentinian  deprived  his  per- 
son and  crown  of  the  only  defender  whom  he  might  successfully 
oppose  to  his  numerous  enemies.  One  of  his  attendants  gave  him 
to  understand  this  fully,  when,  being  asked  what  he  thought  of 
the  death  of  ^Etius,  he  answered  that  the  emperor  had  cut  off  his 
own  right  hand  with  the  left.  A  few  months  after  (A.  D.  455),  Va- 
lentinian was  murdered  in  the  midst  of  Rome  by  some  discontented 
officers,  the  chief  of  whom  was  a  certain  Maximus,  who  immediate- 
seized  upon  the  imperial  throne.  That  unhappy  prince  had  lived 
thirty-six,  and  reigned  about  thirty  yearsj  if  he  may  be  said  to  have 
reigned,  who  was  almost  constantly  a  slave  to  the  interested  will  of 
others  as  well  as  to  his  own  passions,  which  he  never  controlled. 

Notwithstanding  his  vices  and  the  faults  of  his  government,  Valen- 
tinian was  regretted  by  many  persons :  his  widow,  Eudoxia,  carried 
her  resentment  against  the  murderers  so  far,  as  to  call  the  Vandals 
from  Africa  to  avenge  his  death.  No  proposal  could  be  more  pleas- 
ing to  that  nation  always  eager  for  pillage;  they  hastened  to  cross 
the  sea  with  a  numerous  fleet,  and  going  up  the  Tiber,  entered  Rome 
before  the  close  of  the  same  year  455.  At  this  time,  St.  Leo  was  not 
able  to  avert  the  storm,  but  he  succeeded  at  least  in  obtaining  from 
Genseric,  though  an  Arian  and  a  violent  persecutor  of  the  Catholics 
in  his  own  kingdom,  that  the  buildings  of  the  city  and  the  lives  of 
the  inhabitants  should  be  spared.  Accordingly,  the  Vandals  content- 
ed themselves  with  taking  a  certain  number  of  prisoners  together 
with  the  riches  of  Rome,  and  returned  to  Carthage  loaded  with 
booty. 


MARCIAN.— LEO  THE  THRACIAN,  IN  THE  EAST. 

LAST  PERIOD  AND  FALL  OF  THE  WESTERN  EMPIRE. — 455 — 476. 

THEODOSIUS  II  died  in  the  year  450,  of  a  fall  from  his  horse,  at  the 
age  of  fifty,  after  a  reign  of  forty- two  years.  No  one  was  better 
qualified  to  succeed  him  than  his  sister  Pulcheria ;  still,  as  no  woman 
had  ever  reigned  alone  in  either  empire,  she  married  and  proclaimed 
emperor,  Marcian,  a  brave  and  virtuous  officer,  who  by  his  merit  had 
raised  himself  from  the  condition  of  a  common  soldier  to  a  conspicu- 
ous rank  in  both  the  army  and  the  state. 

No  sooner  was  he  acknowledged  emperor,  than  he  began  to  rescue 
the  empire  from  that  state  of  ignominy  arid  dejection  to  which  it  had 
been  reduced  by  the  barbarians.  When  Attila,  before  setting  out  for 
his  expedition  into  Gaul,  sent  to  the  court  of  Constantinople  to  re- 


132  MODERN    HISTORY.  Part  n 

ceive  the  payment  of  the  annual  tribute  stipulated  by  TheoJosius  II, 
Marcian  answered  the  deputies  that,  reserving  gold  for  his  friends,  he 
had  nothing  but  iron  and  steel  for  his  enemies.  Towards  his  sub- 
jects he  behaved  as  a  true  father.  Being  surrounded  by  excellent 
counsellors  of  his  own  choice,  he  devoted  with  them  all  his  care  to 
restore  security  and  abundance,  procure  the  exact  administration  of 
justice,  remove  unworthy  men  from  public  employments,  diminish 
the  taxes,  check  the  course  of  public  and  private  calamities,  relieve 
the  poor  and  distressed,  in  a  word,  to  bestow  benefits  on  all,  as  far  as 
prudence  and  the  state  of  the  exchequer  permitted. 

The  object  that  chiefly  engaged  Marcian's  attention  was  the  cause 
of  the  true  faith,  which  demanded  his  cooperation  against  various 
enemies  in  the  East.  Of  late,  a  succession  of  violent  storms  had 
been  raised  against  it  by  two  opposite  heresies,  the  Nestorian,  which 
denied  the  unity  of  person  in  Christ,  and  the  Eutychian,  which  at- 
tacked the  distinction  of  his  two  natures.  The  former  of  these  errors, 
both  equally  hostile  to  the  mystery  of  the  Incarnation,  had  been  al- 
ready condemned  by  the  general  council  of  Ephesus,  held  in  431 ; 
against  the  latter,  the  council  of  Chalcedon,  the  fourth  of  the  general 
councils,  was,  by  the  authority  of  Pope  St.  Leo,  and  through  the  care 
of  Marcian,  assembled  in  451.  Besides  renewing  the  condemnation  of 
the  Nestorian,  it  solemnly  proscribed  the  Eutychian  doctrines;  and 
such  of  the  abettors  of  either  as  refused  to  submit,  were  considered 
as  no  longer  belonging  to  the  Church  of  Christ:  they  henceforth 
formed  separate  societies,  which  are  still  extant  in  Asia. 

Marcian  was  not  less  distinguished  for  his  domestic  virtues,  than 
for  his  public  conduct.  Nothing  appeared  in  him  but  sincere  piety 
and  modesty,  beneficence,  disinterestedness,  and  admirable  purity  of 
life.  His  reign,  deservedly  called  the  golden  age  of  the  Eastern  em- 
pire, was,  if  not  the  most  conspicuous  in  every  respect,  at  least  the 
most  prosperous  and  irreprehensible.  Unfortunately,  it  did  not  last 
more  than  six  years  and  five  months ;  this  excellent  emperor  died  in 
January  457,  at  the  age  of  sixty-five. 

Leo,  the  Thracian,  who  succeeded  him,  and  reigned  about  seven- 
teen years,  also  shewed  great  zeal  for  religion.  He  was  well  fitted 
for  the  sovereign  power,  though  not  so  talented  or  successful  as  his 
predecessor.  A  powerful  fleet  which  he  sent  against  Genseric,  was 
entirely  defeated ;  but  he  gained  signal  victories  over  the  barbarians  of 
the  north,  and,  in  general,  maintained  his  dominions  in  that  state  of 
respectability  in  which  they  had  been  left  by  Marcian.  He  died  in 
the  year  474,  and  Genseric,  that  terrible  conqueror  whom  we  have 
often  mentioned,  followed  him  to  the  grave  three  years  later,  after 
having  during  half  a  century  inflicted  on  the  Romans,  in  evrry  part 
of  their  dominions,  all  the  injury  in  his  power. 


A.  D.  455-476.  MARCIAtf,    ETC.  133 

The  Western  empire  was  now  in  the  last  stage  of  its  existence.  After 
the  death  of  Valentinian  III,  and  of  the  usurper  Maxirnus  (A.  D.  455), 
Avitus,  a  senator  of  great  repute,  was  acknowledged  emperor  in  their 
place:  still,  the  greater  portion  of  the  authority  SOOH  fell  into  the 
hands  of  Ricimer,  a  general  of  Suevian  extraction,  who  was  equally 
capable  of  noble  deeds  and  great  crimes ;  prudent  and  eloquent,  skil- 
ful and  intrepid,  but  devoid  of  true  honor,  fidelity  and  gratitude,  and 
guided  only  by  his  ambition.  He  might,  at  three  different  times, 
have  assumed  the  purple;  but  he  preferred  to  confer  it  on  others, 
whom  he  raised  and  afterwards  destroyed  in  the  most  capricious 
manner. 

Within  the  short  space  of  twenty-one  years,  no  fewer  than  eight 
emperors  successively  appeared  and  disappeared;  viz. 

Avitus,  whose  reign  commenced  in 455. 

Majorien 457. 

Libius-Severus 461. 

Anthemius 467. 

Olybrius 472. 

Glycerius       473. 

Julius-Nepos 474. 

Romulus-Agustulus 475. 

Some  of  these  emperors  were  men  of  great  merit,  and,  in  more  fa- 
vorable circumstances,  might  have  reigned  with  glory.  Majorien  es- 
pecially, and  nearly  the  same  might  be  said  of  Anthemius,  was  not 
less  commendable  for  his  moral  and  mental  qualities  than  for  his  mili- 
tary acquirements ;  but  these  two  emperors  incurred  the  displeasure 
of  Ricimer,  by  not  leaving  the  government  in  his  hands,  and  were  put 
to  death  by  that  ambitious  and  cruel  minister.  ' 

Notwithstanding  so  many  revolutions  and  enormities,  Ricimer 
vigorously  repulsed  the  various  foes  who  were  striving  to  complete  the 
dismemberment  of  the  empire.  Death  alone  put  a  stop  to  his  career 
of  crimes  and  victories  (A.  D.  472). 

The  last  emperor  of  the  West,  by  a  singular  coincidence,  \>ore  the 
names  both  of  the  founder  of  the  city  (Romulus),  and  of  the  founder 
of  the  empire  of  Rome  (Augustus);  being  called  Romulus-Augus- 
tus, or  Augustulus  (on  account  of  his  youth).  At  that  time,  the 
Romans,  blended  with  other  nations  which  continually  poured  into 
their  territory,  had  no  longer  any  attachment  either  for  the  imperial 
government,  or  for  emperors  who  could  not  defend  them  against 
their  enemies.  Odoacer,  king  of  the  Heruli,  taking  advantage  of  the 
apathy  of  the  people,  easily  overthrew  a  tottering  throne,  the  fall  of 
\vhich  was  accelerated  by  its  own  weakness.  He  attacked  Augustulus 
in  Ravenna,  and,  having  made  himself  master  of  the  town,  deprived 
him  of  the  purple,  though,  through  compassion  for  his  age,  he  spared 


134  MODERN    HISTORY.  ,,.m  „. 

his  life,  and  even  granted  him  an  honorable  retreat  near  Naples.  The 
conqueror  found  no  greater  difficulty  in  subduing  Pavia,  Rome,  and 
all  Italy,  of  which  he  was  proclaimed  king  (A.  D.  476). 

Thus  was  the  Roman  empire  destroyed  in  the  West,  twelve  hun- 
dred and  twenty-nine  years  after  the  building  of  Rome,  five  hundred 
and  seven  after  the  battle  of  Actium.  Its  fall,  long  since  prepared  by  the 
weakness  of  many  emperors  and  the  despotism  of  armies,  by  civil 
wars  and  foreign  invasions,  was  scarcely  noticed  in  the  world;  it  dis- 
appeared without  any  violent  commotion,  like  a  man  full  of  years, 
who  dies  of  decrepitude.  The  Eastern  empire,  being  less  exposed  to 
foreign  attacks,  and  better  defended  by  its  capital  and  frontiers,  sub- 
sisted yet  for  many  centuries,  during  which  its  history  is  connected 
with  that  of  nations  of  more  recent  origin;  but  it  never  attained 
the  power,  splendor  and  wealth,  which  had  distinguished  ancient 
Rome. 

Amidst  so  many  disturbances  and  revolutions,  religion  alone  fully 
maintained  her  influence  and  dignity.  Far  from  yielding  to  the  vio 
lence  of  the  storms  which  shook  the  social  world  to  its  very  centre, 
she  exercised  her  divine  power  over  the  very  conquerors  of  Rome, 
and,  being  founded  upon  an  immovable  rock  by  the  hand  of  God 
himself,  she  triumphed  over  them,  as  she  had  formerly  triumphed  over 
her  pagan  persecutors.  Even  at  this  disastrous  and  turbulent  period, 
she  began  to  tame  and  civilize  those  fierce  barbarians  who  before  ac- 
knowledged no  law  but  that  of  the  sword.  Divine  Providence  seemed 
to  have  permitted  their  irruptions  into  the  Roman  provinces  for  no 
other  view  than  to  destroy,  through  their  means,  the  last  remains  of 
idolatry,  and  effect  their  own  happy  conversion  to  the  laws  of  the 
Gospel.  On  the  other  hand,  the  inhabitants  of  the  invaded  countries 
were  led  to  understand, in  the  midst  of  their  sufferings,  that  all  was 
not  lost  for  them,  but  that  they  would  find  a  sure  refuge  in  the 
Church  of  Christ. 


PART    III. 


FROM    THE   DOWNFALL   OF   THE   WESTERN   EMPIRE    (A.  D.  476),    TO  ITS 
BEVIVAL   UNDER   CHARLEMAGNE  (A.  D.  800). 


FOUNDATION  OF  THE  PRINCIPAL  AND  MOST  CELEBRATED 
STATES  OF  EUROPE. 


FROM  the  overthrow  of  the  Western  empire  we  may  date  the 
foundation  of  the  principal  states  now  extant  in  Europe.  The 
northern  tribes  by  whose  multiplied  efforts  its  entire  ruin  was  effected 
or  accelerated,  vied  with  each  other  in  taking  speedy  possession  of  its 
fairest  provinces.  The  conquests  of  the  Vandals  and  of  the  Heruli 
having  been  already  mentioned,  we  have  to  speak  at  present  of  the 
still  more  successful  and  celebrated  establishment  of  the  Anglo-Saxons 
in  Great  Britain,  of  the  Visigoths  in  Spain,  of  the  Franks  in  Gaul, 
and  of  the  Ostrogoths  in  Italy. 


§  I.— ANGLO-SAXONS  IN  GREAT  BRITAIN. 
HENGIST.— 449— 488. 

EVER  since  the  time  when  the  Roman  troops  were  totally  with- 
drawn from  Great  Britain,  the  Picts  and  Scots  seized  every  favorable 
opportunity  to  renew  their  inroads.  District  after  district  became  a 
scene  of  devastation,  and  the  misery  of  the  natives  increased  every 
day,  till  finding  themselves  destitute  of  all  resources  at  home,  they 
at  length  resolved  to  call  in  as  auxiliaries  a  body  of  Saxons,  who, 
having  sailed  from  the  north  of  Germany,  were  then  cruising  in  the 
channel  along  the  coast  in  quest  of  plunder.  Adventurers  like  these 
could  not  fail  to  comply  with  a  request  which  they  justly  presumed 
would  turn  to  their  own  advantage.  For  six  years  (449— -455)  they 
fought  the  battles  of  the  natives  with  great  fidelity  and  success.  But 


136  MODERN    HISTORY.  Part  II L 

having  by  this  time  invited  great  numbers  of  their  countrymen,  to 
whom  the  Angles,  another  German  tribe,  willingly  joined  themselves, 
they  excited  the  jealousy  and  alarms  of  the  Britons,  who  refused  them 
an  increased  supply  of  provisions. 

This  was  the  signal  for  a  war  which  proved  most  fatal  to  the  liber- 
ty of  the  natives.  The  Anglo-Saxons  conquered  them  in  many 
battles,  and  began  to  bring  under  subjection  the  country  which  they 
had  just  defended  against  the  Scottish  invaders.  Their  first  settle- 
ment upon  the  British  territory  was  that  of  Kent,  which  the  valiant 
chieftain  Hengist  gained  and  secured  by  a  series  of  bloody  victories, 
from  the  year  455  to  473,  and  which,  at  his  death,  in  488,  he  left  in 
a  prosperous  condition  to  his  son  JEsca.  The  work  of  conquest  was 
continued  after  him,  and,  though  the  Britons  fought  with  great  valor, 
and  sometimes  with  success,  for  the  independence  of  their  country, 
their  efforts  ultimately  proved  fruitless,  and  the  greater  part  of  the 
island  was  subjugated  by  the  Anglo-Saxons,  who,  changing  its  name, 
laws  and  constitution,  established  in  it  seven  independent  kingdoms, 
commonly  called  the  Heptarchy. 

By  this  conquest,  the  whole  of  tlTe  country  was  replunged  into 
the  state  of  barbarism  from  which  it  had  been  rescued  by  the  Ro- 
mans. It  remained  in  that  state  until  the  close  of  the  sixth  century, 
when  its  conquerors  received  the  light  of  the  Gospel  through  the 
pious  zeal  of  St.  Augustine  and  forty  other  missionaries  sent  from 
Rome  by  Pope  St.  Gregory  the  Great.  The  natives,  as  soon  as  they 
found  resistance  useless,  h>d  with  their  most  valuable  effects  to  the 
hills  and  forests,  to  escape  from  the  exterminating  sword  of  the  inva- 
ders. Multitudes  found  a  secure  asylum  in  the  craggy  and  moun 
tainous  districts  of  the  country  of  Wales,  which  they  henceforth 
occupied  for  many  centuries.  Others,  crossing  the  ocean,  landed  on 
the  western  extremity  of  Armorica  in  Gaul,  where  they  made  per- 
manent settlements,  and  gave  to  the  new  tract  they  inhabited  the 
name  of  Brittany  (Bretagne),  which  it  still  retains. 


§  II.— VISIGOTHS  IN  SPAIN. 
EVARIC.— A.  D.  466—484. 

THE  conquests  of  the  Visigoths,  or  Western  Goths,  in  Spain, 
were  more  rapid  than  those  of  the  Anglo-Saxons  in  Britain.  Their 
king  Evaric,  taking  advantage  of  the  weakness  and  continual  change 
of  the  last  Roman  emperors,  sent  a  powerful  army  from  the  south  of 
Gaul  to  the  nearest  provinces  beyond  the  Pyrenees.  The  success  of 


AD.  4G6-481.       VISIGOTHS    IN    SPAIN,   ETC.  13? 

this  expedition  was  astonishing:  the  very  strongest  towns  opened 
their  gates,  and  the  natives,  defeated  in  a  great  battle,  abandoned  a 
considerable  portion  of  their  country  to  the  enemy.  Upon  this, 
Evaric  himself  arrived  at  the  head  of  fresh  troops;  the  war  was 
prosecuted  with  redoubled  vigor;  nothing  could  resist  his  arms,  nor 
impede  his  progress,  and  with  the  exception  of  a  few  northern  pro- 
vinces occupied  by  the  Suevians,  the  whole  peninsula  submitted  to 
his  power  (A.  D.  473). 

This  warlike  prince  subdued  also  the  portion  of  Aquitania  not  yet 
in  his  possession,  and  many  other  provinces  in  Gaul.  The  name  of 
Evaric  was  now  respected  abroad:  his  court  which  he  established  at 
Bordeaux,  beheld  ambassadors  from  all  the  neighboring  nations  pay- 
ing homage  to  him  as  to  the  mightiest  monarch  of  western  Europe; 
and  this  high  reputation  he  enjoyed  until  his  death. 

But,  besides  being  a  powerful  conqueror  and  the  founder  of  the 
kingdom  of  the  Visigoths  in  Spain,  Evaric  wished  also  to  be  the 
legislator  of  his  people.  Until  then,  the  Gothic  legislation  was  very 
limited,  consisting  only  of  some  statutes  of  their  kings,  which  had 
little  authority  among  them,  and  were  frequently  disregarded  in  prac- 
tice. Evaric  published  a  collection  of  those  ancient  laws,  and  added 
to  them  new  regulations  peculiarly  adapted  to  the  time,  place  and  other 
circumstances.  Well  aware  that  on  their  faithful  observance  depended 
his  personal  safety  as  well  as  the  prosperity  of  the  state,  he  carefully 
enforced  their  execution,  and  thus  began  to  accustom  the  Visigoths 
to  the  duties  and  practices  of  social  life. 

Evaric  died  at  Aries  in  484,  after  a  glorious  reign  of  eighteen  years. 
His  uncommon  talent  for  war  and  civil  administration  would  have 
still  more  entitled  him  to  the  praises  of  posterity,  had  he  not,  through 
ambition,  stained  his  hand  with  the  blood  of  his  brother  Theodoric  II, 
and,  through  sectarian  intolerance,  treated  his  Catholic  subjects  with 
excessive  rigor,  he  himself  being  an  obstinate  Arian.  Great  however 
were  the  civil  benefits  he  bestowed  on  his  own  people;  the  conquest 
of  the  peninsula,  especially,  was  so  much  the  more  fortunate  for  the 
Visigoths,  as  they  were  on  the  point  of  being  expelled  from  their  pos- 
sessions in  Gaul  by  a  still  greater  conqueror,  and  of  being  compelled 
to  confine  themselves  to  their  newly  acquired  and  more  lasting  king- 
dom of  Spain. 


12* 


138  MODERN    HISTORY.  Part  IIL 

$  III.— FRANKS  IN  GAUL. 
CLOVIS.— A.  D.  481—511. 


This  conqueror  was  Clovis,  king  of  the  Franks,  who,  for  the  mag- 
nitude and  important  consequences  of  his  exploits,  is  justly  considered 
the  real  founder  of  the  French  monarchy.  The  Franks  were  not  at  first 
a  single  nation  distinct  from  all  others,  but  made  up  of  several  Ger- 
man tribes  which  had,  long  before,  entered  into  a  confederacy  for  the 
support  of  their  independence.  During  the  greater  part  of  the  fifth 
century,  under  four  successive  kings,  they  made  frequent  irruptions 
into  Gaul,  and  took  possession  of  its  northern  frontiers ;  Clovis,  more 
enterprising,  undertook,  at  the  early  age  of  twenty  years,  to  bring  it 
entirely  under  his  power. 

His  first  opponent  was  Syagrius,  a  brave  general,  who  had  formed 
a  small  state  for  himself  in  the  north  of  Gaul  on  the  ruins  of  the  Ro- 
man empire.  Clovis  attacked  him  near  Soissons  (A.  D.  486),  and 
gained  so  complete  a  victory,  that  Syagrius,  being  left  almost  alone 
in  his  party,  fled  for  refuge  to  the  court  of  Alaric  II,  king  of  the  Visi- 
goths. Nor  could  this  asylum  save  him  from  the  hands  of  his  vic- 
torious enemy.  Clovis  compelled  Alaric,  by  threats  and  terrors,  to 
deliver  up  the  unfortunate  general  whom  he  put  to  death,  and,  by 
this  act  of  cruel  policy,  remained  in  full  possession  of  his  territory. 

After  the  lapse  of  some  years,  the  French  king  was  obliged,  in  con- 
sequence of  a  sudden  invasion  of  the  Alemanni,  to  carry  his  arms  to 
the  banks  of  the  Rhine.  An  obstinate  battle  was  fought  at  Tolbiac, 
near  Cologne,  in  which  the  Franks,  almost  entirely  routed  in  the  be- 
ginning, remained  in  the  end  masters  of  the  field.  It  was  after  this 
unexpected  triumph,  which  Clovis  himself  attributed  to  a  special  pro- 
tection of  the  true  God  whom  he  had  invoked  during  the  contest,  that 
both  he  and  his  nation,  abandoning  the  worship  of  idols,  embraced 
the  Christian  faith  (A.  D.  496). 

During  the  course  of  the  ensuing  years,  Clovis,  always  active  and 
fond  of  conquests,  continued  to  enlarge  his  empire.  Either  by  force 
of  arms,  or  by  negotiations  and  treaties,  he  obliged  the  Arborici  (inha- 
bitants of  Belgium)  to  acknowledge  him  for  their  king,  subdued  Ba- 
varia, and  rendered  the  Burgundians  his  tributaries.  This  rapid  in- 
crease of  power  in  the  French  monarch  was  a  source  of  uneasiness 
and  alarm  for  his  neighbors,  particularly  for  Alaric,  king  of  the  Visi- 
goths :  fearing  for  his  own  territory,  he  raised  troops  for  its  defence. 
Nothing  could  be  more  consonant  than  this  with  the  designs  of  Clo- 
vis, as  it  afforded  him  an  occasion  of  declaring  an  open  war,  and 


*.  i>.  481-^511. 


FRANKS    IN    GAUL     ETC.  139 


striking  at  once  a  signal  blow.  He  marched  with  his  usual  rapidity, 
crossed  the  river  Loire,  carne  up  with  the  army  of  the  Visigoths  near 
Poitiers,  and  forced  them  to  engage  in  a  general  battle  (A.  D.  507). 
After  a  sanguinary  contest,  victory  declared  in  favor  of  Clovis.  With 
his  own  hand  he  struck  Alaric  dead  ;  the  Visigoths  then  fled  with  all 
possible  speed,  their  conquerors  pursuing  them  in  every  direction. 
In  less  than  two  years,  Clovis  subdued  nearly  all  their  possessions 
between  the  Loire  and  the  Pyrenees,  and  thus  nearly  extinguished 
their  domination  in  Gaul  ;  he  would  even  have  carried  his  advantages 
farther,  had  not  a  considerable  body  of  his  troops  been  defeated,  near 
Aries,  by  those  of  Theodoric,  king  of  Italy. 

Still,  this  defeat  did  not  deprive  Clovis  of  the  principal  fruit  of  his 
labors.  He  preserved  his  former  conquests,  and  returning  to  the 
north  of  Gaul,  or  rather  France,  as  we  shall  henceforth  call  it,  fixed 
his  residence  in  Paris.  The  extraordinary  reputation  he  had  gained, 
being  now  far  spread,  and  causing  a  great  sensation  even  at  the  court 
of  Constantinople,  the  emperor  Anastasius  sent  him  the  ornaments  of 
the  consulship,  as  a  mark  of  his  esteem  and  alliance.  Unfortunately, 
Clovis  did  not  preserve  his  glory  pure  and  entire  to  the  end,  but  sul 
lied  it  by  several  acts  of  cruelty  against  the  princes  of  his  own  kin- 
dred, whose  estates  he  wished  to  invade.  He  died  in  511,  at  the  age 
of  forty-five,  after  a  reign  of  thirty  years,  leaving  his  kingdom  to  be 
divided  among  four  sons:  a  mode  of  succession  which  was  followed 
after  him  on  different  occasions,  and  became  a  source  of  numberless 
disasters  and  civil  wars. 

Although  the  government  of  Clovis  had  been  rather  military  and 
despotic,  it  evinced  on  many  points  a  wise  and  skilful  policy.  He 
did  not,  barbarian  like,  expel  the  natives  from  the  provinces  which 
he  subdued,  nor  deprive  them  of  their  liberty  and  all  their  property  ; 
he  only  required  that  the  lands  of  the  country  should  be  divided  be- 
tween them  and  his  followers  ;  whence  it  followed  that  the  two 
nations,  living  and  dwelling  together  upon  the  same  soil,  were  soon 
blended  into  one  people.  He  also  published  a  code  of  laws,  one  of 
which  declared  women  unfit  to  inherit  such  estates  as  had  been  ob- 
tained by  arms  and  conquest  ;  and  this  gave  rise  to  the  fundamental 
regulation  of  the  national  constitution  of  France,  according  to  which 
the  French  crown  never  devolved  to  women.* 

*  That  code  was  called  the  Salic  law,  from  the  tribe  of  the  Salian  Frank*. 
to  which  Clovis  belonged.  The  article  which  settled  the  right  of  succes- 
sion, became  subsequently,  when  understood  of  the  succession  to  the 
throne,  a  proverb  thus  expressed  :  Le  royaume  de  France  ne  iombe  point  en 
quenouille. 


140  MODERN   HISTORY.  rtrt  riL 

$  IV.— OSTROGOTHS  IN  ITALY. 
THEODORIC  THE  GREAT.— (A.  D.  493—526). 

CLOVIS,  notwithstanding  his  justly  renowned  exploits  and  legisla- 
tion, was  neither  the  greatest  warrior  nor  the  ablest  politician  of  his 
age,  this  praise  being  due  rather  to  Theodoric,  king  of  the  eastern 
Goths  or  Ostrogoths.  7^is  nation,  after  the  dismemberment  of 
Attila's  empire,  settled  first  in  Pannonia  near  the  Danube,  but,  being 
little  satisfied  with  its  residence,  set  out  in  489  on  an  expedition 
against  Italy.  Odoacer,  who  was  yet  reigning  there,  did  not  fail  to 
defend  with  courage  a  kingdom  which  he  had  now  governed,  during 
fourteen  years,  with  great  wisdom  and  glory.  Still,  victory  every 
where  followed  the  standard  of  Theodoric :  three  battles  lost  by  Odoa- 
cer, and  the  vigor  with  which  the  Goths  conducted  the  siege  of  the 
city  of  Ravenna  where  he  had  taken  refuge,  obliged  him  to  come  to 
an  agreement  with  his  conqueror.  He  was  first  treated  with  cor- 
diality ;  till  Theodoric,  sacrificing  justice  and  humanity  to  the  cruel 
policy  of  the  times,  perfidiously  put  to  death  a  prince  worthy  of  a 
better  fate  (A.  D.  493). 

But,  if  the  Gothic  monarch  had  recourse  to  so  odious  a  means  for 
the  acquisition  of  a  new  kingdom,  he  on  the  other  hand  took  the 
wisest  and  most  efficient  measures  tp  secure  its  possession.  One 
of  the  most  successful  was,  to  enter  into  a  permanent  alliance  with 
the  neighboring  princes.  Some  of  them  he  compelled  to  live  at 
peace  with  him;  others  he  attached  to  his  family  and  to  himself  by 
(he  ties  of  affinity;  with  others,  in  fine,  he  assumed  the  lone  of  pa- 
rental authority,  fully  justified  by  his  great  wisdom  and  experience. 
"  You  are  young,"  he  wrote  to  them,  "  and  stand  in  need  of  good 
advice.  Your  ambition  and  imprudent  behavior  afflict  me,  and  I 
cannot  see  with  indifference  that  you  are  ruled  by  your  passions." 
He  was  guided  by  these  wise  counsels  himself,  taking  care  not  to 
enlarge  his  dominions  by  rashly  exposing  the  life  of  his  people  or 
violating  the  laws  of  equity.  "  Let  others,"  said  he,  ft  wage  war  for 
the  sake  of  destruction  and  plunder;  as  for  me,  rny  intention  is,  with 
the  help  of  God,  to  conquer  my  enemies  in  such  a  manner,  that  the 
vanquished  may  be  sorry  for  not  having  been  before  of  the  number 
of  my  subjects." 

No  sooner  did  Theodoric  see  his  power  firmly  established  in  Italy, 
than  he  undertook  to  civilize  his  people  under  the  benign  influence 
of  its  climate.  He  adopted  for  that  purpose  the  Roman  jurispru- 
dence, which  he  reduced  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  statutes,  well 


A.  D.  493-526.     OSTROGOTHS    IN    ITALY,  ETC.  141 

calculated,  by  the  prudent  rules  and  judicious  maxims  with  which 
they  abounded,  to  promote  the  public  utility.  He  wished  the  Italians 
and  the  Goths,  after  a  new  division  of  the  lands,  to  consider  them- 
selves not  only  as  allies,  but  even  as  kinsmen  and  brothers,  being 
governed  upon  the  same  principles  and  by  one  who  looked  upon 
himself  as  their  common  father.  The  only  distinction  established 
between  them  was,  that  the  carrying  of  arms  and  the  performance 
of  military  duty  were  reserved  to  the  Goths,  whilst  civil  employ- 
ments and  trades  were  left  to  the  Romans.  During  the  whole  course 
of  his  reign,  Theodoric  proved  the  impartial  benefactor  of  the  two 
nations,  and  became  equally  endeared  to  both.  Though  an  Arian 
by  birth  and  education,  instead  of  persecuting  the  orthodox,  like  the 
Vandal  kings  of  Africa,  his  cotemporaries,  he  on  the  contrary  favored 
and  protected  them;  and  so  firm  was  his  conviction,  acquired  by 
experience,  of  the  disinterestedness  and  charity  of  the  Catholic 
bishops,  that  he  usually  applied  to  them  for  the  distribution  of  his 
alms  to  the  poor  and  the  exercise  of  his  liberality  towards  the  pro- 
vinces. 

This  great  prince  knew  how  to  gather  around  him  and  select  for 
his  counsellors,  persons  the  most  conspicuous  for  their  merit  and 
ability,  such  as  Boetius,  Cassiodorus,  etc.  Boetius  was  a  man  of 
consular  dignity,  of  noble  feelings  and  superior  genius,  which  shine 
forth  in  all  his  writings,  especially  in  his  five  books  de  Consolation* 
Pkilosophice.  Cassiodorus,  who  was  not  less  distinguished  for  his 
learning  and  virtue,  is  proposed  chiefly  as  the  model  of  a  zealous, 
active  and  disinterested  minister  of  state.  After  a  most  laborious  life 
at  court,  he  retired  into  a  pleasant  solitude  in  Calabria,  where  he  de- 
voted the  remainder  of  his  days  to  study,  writing,  and  religious  exer- 
cises, and  died  at  the  age  of  about  one  hundred  years. 

Thus  was  literature,  so  long  after  the  Augustan  age,  still  culti- 
vated with  great  success  in  Italy ;  and,  whilst  the  Franks,  the  Bur- 
gundians,  and  the  Visigoths,  had  scarcely  begun  to  learn  the  princi- 
ples of  civilization,  the  court  of  Theodoric  was  the  centre  of  learning 
and  politeness.  His  palace  was  constantly  open  to  talents  and 
merit.  To  him  Rome  was  indebted  for  the  rebuilding  of  its  walls 
and  the  preservation  of  its  ancient  monuments;  Ravenna,  Pavia  and 
other  cities,  were  also  repaired  or  embellished.  He  protected  every 
useful  enterprise,  revived  agriculture  and  commerce,  and  procured 
so  perfect  a  security  to  social  intercourse,  that  neither  citizens  nor 
travellers  had  any  thing  to  fear,  either  in  the  towns  or  in  the  country. 

The  empire  which  Theodoric  had  founded,  and  which,  by  im- 
proving every  fair  occasion,  he  almost  continually  enlarged,  was 
vf-ry  extensive.  He  reigned  over  Italy,  Sicily,  Dalmatia,  Pannonia, 
Rhetia,  Noricum,  and  some  of  the  finest  provinces  of  France  ana 


142  MODERN    HISTORY.  Part  Hi 

Spain.  But  his  glory,  besides  being  already  impaired  by  the  unjust 
death  of  King  Odoacer,  was,  like  that  of  Clovis,  much  diminished 
by  several  subsequent  acts  of  cruelty.  Old  age  and  infirmity  made 
him  suspicious.  He  listened  to  the  slanders  and  false  accusations  oi 
jealous  courtiers  against  the  most  respectable  men  of  the  state.  Cas- 
siodorus  resigned  his  offices,  and  left  the  court :  Boetius,  and  Sym- 
machus,  his  father-in-law,  suffered  capital  punishment,  without 
being  convicted  of  any  crime,  and  the  holy  Pope  John  I,  was 
thrown  into  prison,  where  he  died  after  a  painful  confinement  of 
several  months. 

Remorse  for  these  acts  soon  assailed  Theodoric.  His  bitter  grief 
for  his  late  cruelties,  produced  a  melancholy  which  accelerated  his 
death.  Most  historians  relate  that,  being  one  day  at  table,  when  a 
large  fish  had  been  served  up,  he  imagined  he  saw  in  the  dish  the 
head  of  Symmachusj  he  withdrew  terrified  from  the  table,  went  to 
his  bed,  and  expired,  a  prey  to  anguish  and  remorse,  at  the  age  of 
seventy-four  years  (A.  D.  526).  He  had  however  sufficient  time  to 
proclaim,  with  the  unanimous  consent  of  those  around  him,  his 
grand-son  Athalaric  for  his  successor,  under  the  regency  of  Amala- 
sontes,  mother  of  this  young  prince. 

The  administration  of  Theodoric  was,  during  thirty  years  (from 
494  to  524),  a  model  of  excellent  government  in  almost  every  respect. 
Having  previously  shown  to  the  world  what  he  could  do  on  the  field 
of  battle,  he  appeared,  all  that  time,  a  modest  conqueror,  a  wise 
legislator,  and  a  pacific  monarch,  who  knew,  by  a  happy  mixture 
of  severity  and  mildness,  how  to  keep  his  victorious  soldiers  within 
the  bounds  of  strict  discipline,  and  to  gain  the  hearts  of  his  new  sub- 
jects. When  Belisarius  conquered  the  Goths,  he  overthrew  the 
statues  of  that  great  prince,  but  spared  his  sepulchre.  It  is  yet 
extant  in  Ravenna,  and  attracts,  by  its  elevation,  the  admiration  of 
travellers. 


EMPERORS  OP  CONSTANTINOPLE. 
JUSTIN  I.— A.  D  518—527. 


WE  must  now  revert  to  the  Eastern  empire,  which  began  about 
this  time  to  make  a  greater  figure  in  the  political  world  than  it  had 
done  under  its  last  sovereigns,  Basiliscus,  Zeno  and  Anastasius  I. 
After  them,  Justin,  an  officer  of  obscure  parentage,  but  renowned  for 
hie  valor,  was  judged  worthy  of  the  throne,  at  the  advanced  age  of 


A.  p.  518-4>27. 


JUSTIN  i.  143 


sixty-eight  (A.  D.  518).  It  is  remarkable  that  this  emperor  knew 
neither  how  to  read  nor  write,  and  still  rendered  important  services 
to  the  state,  during  the  nine  years  of  his  reign.  Having  natural 
talent  and  a  sound  mind,  which  he  improved  by  experience  and  by 
asking  counsel  of  other  prudent  men,  he  easily  perceived  the  course 
to  be  followed  in  difficult  affairs,  and  always  acted  with  wisdom  and 
equity. 

He  took  particular  care,  on  the  one  hand,  to  appoint  able  minis- 
ters and  virtuous  magistrates,  and,  on  the  other,  to  afford  seasonable 
relief  to  his  people  in  their  calamities  and  disasters,  which  were  then 
uncommonly  frequent.  But  a  short  time  before  his  elevation,  a  tre- 
mendous earthquake  had  desolated  several  parts  of  Illyria.  For 
some  days,  a  chasm  immensely  deep,  about  twelve  feet  wide,  and 
extending  to  the  distance  of  thirty  miles,  threw  out  sparks  and 
flames,  and  swallowed  up  trees,  rocks  and  houses.  Some  years  be- 
fore, a  dreadful  conflagration  had  consumed  many  buildings  in  Con- 
stantinople, among  others,  that  which  contained  the  public  library 
consisting  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  volumes.  An  in- 
valuable copy  of  the  works  of  Homer,  written  in  golden  letters  on  the 
skin  of  a  serpent  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet  long,  was  lost  on  this 
occasion. 

Again,  in  the  years  525  and  526,  similar  accidents  desolated  or 
destroyed  many  cities,  especially  the  great  city  of  Antioch,  the  capi- 
tal of  Syria.  About  noon  of  the  twenty-ninth  of  May  (526),  a  sud- 
den and  violent  shaking  of  the  ground  overthrew  the  houses  in  the 
western  part  of  the  town;  and,  as  the  earthquake  quickly  reached 
the  other  quarters,  nearly  all  the  buildings  fell,  at  the  same  moment, 
with  a  frightful  crash.  To  this  first  evil,  fire  added  its  ravages.  A 
subterraneous  furnace,  the  usual  attendant  of  earthquakes,  ignited  the 
very  soil;  hot  cinders  were  carried  up  by  whirlwinds,  and  fell  after- 
wards in  the  form  of  a  fiery  rain,  which  consumed  the  wood-work 
of  the  houses,  whilst  another  fire,  rising  from  the  ground,  augmented 
the  conflagration. 

So  unexpectedly  did  all  those  scourges  come  upon  the  inhabitants, 
that  few  of  them  could  make  their  escape  into  the  country ;  and  this 
great  city,  the  most  populous  of  the  East,  became  all  at  once  the 
common  sepulchre  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  persons.  Most 
of  them  were  crushed  by  the  falling  of  the  houses,  or  consumed  by 
the  flames  ;  but  others  met  a  fate  which  almost  exceeds  belief.  Bands 
of  robbers  began  to  commit  depredations  in  the  midst  of  these  scenes 
of  destruction  and  death.  Whilst  numbers  of  unfortunate  people, 
covered  with  bruises  and  wounds,  were  running  in  dismay  through 
the  streets  and  public  places  in  order  to  avoid  impending  ruin,  they 
met  murderers,  who  cruelly  deprived  them  of  life  and  took  possession 


144  MODERN    HISTORY.  pBti  m. 

of  their  fortunes,  and  who,  soon  after,  were  themselves  destroyed  with 
their  criminal  booty. 

The  deplorable  spectacle  of  a  city  which  barbarous  conquerors 
have  just  taken  by  storm,  would  present  but  a  faint  idea  of  the  deso- 
lation of  Antioch.  Some  of  the  inhabitants,  however,  had  the  good 
fortune  to  escape  from  the  ruins  of  their  houses,  under  which  they 
were  for  a  time  buried.  Twenty  or  thirty  days  after,  persons  yet  alive 
were  taken  from  those  sepulchres,  where  they  had  lived  upon  the 
victuals  usually  kept  in  families ;  but  a  far  greater  number  were  found 
dead.  This  earthquake,  the  fifth  that  Antioch  suffered  since  its  foun- 
dation, was  the  most  awful  and  disastrous.  It  lasted  six  days  with 
uninterrupted  violence,  and  during  six  months  was  felt  at  different 
times ;  nor  was  the  ground  entirely  settled  till  eighteen  months  after. 

The  news  of  these  calamitous  events  pierced  the  heart  of  the  em- 
peror with  grief.  He  presently  despatched  virtuous  and  trusty  men, 
with  considerable  sums  of  money,  to  repair  those  cities  which  had 
suffered  most,  and  rescue  their  surviving  inhabitants  from  misery 
and  despair;  we  are  told  that,  in  rebuilding  Anlioch  alone,  he  spent 
fifty  millions  of  livres  (ten  or  twelve  millions  of  dollars).  It  was  in 
the  course  of  these  occupations,  so  worthy  of  a  sovereign,  that  Jus- 
tin closed  his  useful  career  (527).  A  short  time  before  his  death,  he 
associated  his  nephew  Justinian  in  the  imperial  power,  and,  by  his 
demise,  left  this  prince  in  a  condition  to  raise  to  its  proper  height  the 
edifice  of  glory  of  which  he  had  laid  the  first  foundation. 


GLORIOUS  REIGN  OF  JUSTINIAN.— A.  D.  527—565. 

THE  reign  of  Justinian  forms  an  interesting  epoch  in  the  history 
of  the  Greek  empire.  The  enlarged  views  of  this  prince,  the  union 
of  favorable  circumstances,  the  highly  cultivated  state  of  the  science 
of  law,  and  the  brilliant  successes  obtained  in  different  wars,  equally 
contributed  to  render  it  glorious. 

Justinian,  on  his  elevation  to  the  throne,  resolved  to  reconquer  the 
western  provinces  which  formerly  belonged  to  the  Romans,  and  to 
improve  the  civil  legislation.  This  latter  design  he  executed  with  the 
assistance  of  the  ablest  civilians  of  his  age,  particularly  the  famous 
and  learned  questor  Tribonian.  There  already  existed,  it  is  true, 
different  collections  of  laws,  published  under  Adrian,  Theodosius  II, 
etc.;  but  all  of  them  were  defective.  To  become  well  acquainted 
with  the  ancient  jurisprudence,  it  was  necessary  to  peruse  two  thou- 
sand volumes  containing,  amidst  several  wise  enactments,  many  in- 
accuracies and  obscure  passages,  and  oven  opposite  and  contradio 


JUSTINIAN.  145 

tory  statutes.  Justinian  undertook  to  introduce  order  into  that  chaos, 
by  comprising  in  a  work  of  moderate  extent,  both  the  general  princi- 
ples of  jurisprudence,  and  the  best  laws  or  judiciary  sentences  that 
had  been  promulgated  before  his  time,  during  the  space  of  thirteen 
hundred  years. 

He  first  ordered  a  select  collection  to  be  made  of  the  imperial  sta- 
tutes, from  the  beginning  of  Adrian's  reign.  By  the  assiduity  of 
Tribonian  and  his  associates,  the  work  was  soon  performed,  and  pub- 
lished under  the  name  of  the  New  or  Justinian  Code  (A.  D.  529). 
Alter  three  years  more  of  immense  labor,  the  Digest  (Digestum),  or 
Pandects  (Pandcctie),  appeared  in  fifty  books,  containing  the  most 
equitable  ordinances  of  ancient  legislators  with  the  best  decisions  of 
lawyers  or  civilians,  under  proper  divisions  and  titles.  To  render  the 
study  of  these  books  easier  and  more  useful,  some  introduction  was 
ury  ;  this  was  also  made,  and  four  other  books,  called  Institutes, 
were  promulgated,  which  not  only  are  the  key  to  the  Roman  juris- 
prudent-, but  even  contain  the  fundamental  principles  of  all  legisla- 
tion. Of  the  different  parts  of  the  Justinian  compilation,  it  is  the 
best  and  most  admirable.  In  fine,  the  emperor  revised  his  Code,  pub- 
lished it  again  more  correctly  in  534,  and  to  the  ordinances  contained 
in  it  added  a  great  number  of  new  statutes,  the  collection  of  which, 
under  the  title  novellas,  completed  what  we  call  the  Roman  or  the  Civil 
Law. 

Such  was  the  origin  of  that  famous  body  of  laws,  which,  notwith- 
standing some  imperfections,  is  the  most  remarkable  that  human 
wisdom  ever  produced.  It  was  gradually  adopted  in  several  coun- 
tries; and  it  is  moreover  from  that  abundant  source  of  social  princi- 
ples, that  the  present  states  of  Europe  derive  the  better  portion  or 
supply  the  deficiency  of  their  respective  Codes.* 

*  The  history  and  character  of  the  Roman  jurisprudence  are  described 
with  great  erudition  and  sagacity  by  Chancellor  Kent,  in  the  twenty-third 
locture  of  his  Commentaries.  His  concluding  remarks  are  these:  "The 
civil  law  shows  the  proofs  of  the  highest  cultivation  and  refinement;  and 
no  one  who  peruses  it  can  well  avoid  the  conviction,  that  it  has  been  the 
fruitful  source  of  those  comprehensive  views  and  solid  principles,  which 
have  been  applied  to  elevate  and  adorn  the  jurisprudence  of  modern  na- 
tions  The  whole  body  of  the  civil  law  will  excite  never  failing  cu- 
riosity, and  receive  the  homage  of  scholars,  as  a  singular  monument  of 
wisdom.  It  fills  such  a  large  space  in  the  eye  of  human  reason;  it  regu- 
lates so  many  interests  of  man  as  a  social  and  civilized  being;  it  embodies 
so  much  thought,  reflection,  experience  and  labor;  it  leads  us  so  far  into 
1!)<-  M-ccspt-s  of  antiquity,  and  it  has  stood  so  long  against  the  waves  and 
and  wcalhers  of  time,  that  it  is  impossible,  while  engaged  in  the  contempla- 
tion of  the  system,  not  to  be  struck  with  some  portion  of  the  awe  and  vene- 
ration which  are  felt  in  the  midst  of  the  solitudes  of  a  majestic  ruin."  Com- 
mentaries on  /au>,  2d  edit.,  vol.  I,  pp.Ji-tf,  548. 

13 


146  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Part  III. 


Whilst  Justinian  was  engaged  in  this  important  work,  he  did  not 
forget  the  other  design  he  had  formed;  viz.,  of  reconquering  the  wes- 
tern provinces  of  the  empire  now  occupied  by  the  barbarians.  Not 
to  be  surrounded  with  enemies  on  all  sides,  he  ended  a  long  and  un- 
decisive war  against  the  Persians  by  a  solemn  treaty  of  peace,  and 
then  directed  all  his  efforts  to  the  conquest  of  Africa.  The  Vandals, 
who  were  still  masters  of  that  country,  had  very  much  degenerated 
from  their  former  courage;  and  perpetual  quarrels  among  the  de- 
scendants of  Genseric  contributed  to  weaken  more  and  more  their 
political  strength.  One  of  these  dissensions  furnished  Justinian  with 
an  opportunity  to  send  a  fleet  and  an  army  to  Africa,  under  the  com- 
mand of  Belisarius  (A.  D.  533). 

This  general  had  already,  during  the  preceding  Persian  war,  begun 
to  display  that  extraordinary  skill  in  the  art  of  commanding  armies, 
which  afterwards  rendered  him  equal  to  the  greatest  generals  of  an- 
cient Rome.  He  sailed  from  Constantinople  with  five  hundred  and 
ninety-two  vessels  of  all  dimensions,  and,  after  a  long  voyage,  landed 
on  the  shores  of  Africa,  at  some  distance  from  Carthage.  His  troops 
amounted  to  scarcely  sixteen  thousand  men;  but  they  were  full  of 
ardor,  and  the  general  was  himself  a  host.  The  Vandals,  on  the 
contrary,  had  numerous  troops;  but  their  generals  were  unskilled  in 
war,  and  showed  more  valor  than  prudence:  two  of  them  perished 
in  a  first  battle;  the  others,  with  King  Gelimer,  were  put  to  flight 
This  enabled  Belisarius  to  advance  through  the  country  without  fur- 
ther obstacle.  Every  where  he  was  received  as  a  deliverer  by  the  an- 
cient inhabitants,  especially  by  those  of  Carthage:  the  rigor  and  bar- 
barism of  the  Vandals  had  long  since  exasperated  their  minds  ;  where- 
as the  mildness  of  Justinian's  general,  and  the  excellent  discipline 
which  he  maintained  in  his  army,  gained  him  universal  confidence 
and  affection.  From  Carthage,  Belisarius  went  forward  in  pursuit 
of  Gelimer.  Having  found  him  stationed  at  Tricameron,  a  place 
twenty  miles  distant  from  Carthage ;  with  only  ten  thousand  men 
against  one  hundred  thousand  Vandals,  he  obtained  a  glorious  vic- 
tory, which  rendered  him  master  of  the  whole  surrounding  country, 
of  the  royal  treasures,  and  even,  in  a  short  time  of  the  person  of 
the  king  (534). 

This  prince  had  fled  from  the  field  of  battle  to  the  extremity  of 
Numidia,  and  there  had  shut  himself  up  in  a  town  situated  on  the 
summit  of  a  high  mountain.  Belisarius,  whose  presence  was  neces- 
sary at  Carthage,  sent  one  of  his  generals,  named  Pharas,  with  a 
part  of  the  army,  to  invest  that  place,  and  if  possible,  to  take  the 
king  prisoner.  Accordingly,  the  town  was  closely  besieged,  and, 
before  the  expiration  of  three  months,  was  reduced  to  the  last  ex- 
tremity ;  in  the  meanwhile.  Pharaj?'Vrote  to  Gelimer,  and  exhorted 


,  D.  5*7-565.  JUSTINIAN.  147 

him  to  surrender,  with  a  positive  assurance  that  he  would  be  hono- 
rably treated  by  Justinian.  The  unfortunate  prince  wept  whilst 
reading  the  letter,  and  in  his  answer  to  it,  after  expressing  his  unwil- 
lingness to  become  a  captive,  requested  Pharas  to  send  him  a  loaf,  a 
sponge  and  a  lute :  a  loaf,  because  he  had  not  seen  any  bread  for  a 
long  time  j  a  sponge,  to  wash  his  wounds ;  and  a  lute,  to  accompany 
his  voice  when  singing  his  misfortunes. 

Pharas,  moved  with  compassion,  granted  the  request,  but  still  con- 
tinued, with  diligent  care,  to  obstruct  all  the  avenues  of  the  fortress. 
At  length,  Gelimer,  afraid  lest  it  should  be  taken  by  storm,  consented 
to  capitulate.  He  descended  from  the  mountain,  and,  on  the  re- 
peated assurances  of  an  honorable  treatment,  went  with  •  Pharas  to 
Carthage,  where  he  delivered  himself  into  the  hands  of  Belisarius. 

Thus  was  Africa  again  subjected  to  the  Roman  power,*  and  the 
kingdom  of  the  Vandals  destroyed  after  a  duration  of  one  hundred 
and  six  years.  Belisarius,  having  provided,  as  well  as  he  was  able, 
for  the  security  of  his  conquest,  returned  to  Constantinople,  where  he 
received  honors  proportionate  to  the  greatness  of  his  exploits.  He 
had  taken  the  precaution  to  make  Gelimer  embark  with  him  and 
leave  Africa.  When  this  unhappy  monarch  was  solemnly  presented 
to  the  emperor,  in  the  middle  of  an  immense  concourse  of  people,  no 
sigh,  no  tear  escaped  him ;  but  appearing  to  be  plunged  in  deep 
reflection  on  the  present  state  of  his  fortune,  he  several  times  repeated 
these  words  of  Scripture :  Vanity  of  vanities,  and  all  is  vanity.^  Jus- 
tinian gave  him  a  rich  estate  in  Galatia,  where  he  was  permitted  to 
live  in  quiet  with  his  family. 

Scarcely  had  the  African  provinces  been  united  to  the  empire, 
when  similar  views  began  to  be  manifested  with  respect  to  Italy. 
The  unjust  death  inflicted  by  ungrateful  subjects  on  dueen  Amala- 
sontes,  who  had  been  a  faithful  ally  to  the  court  of  Constantinople, 
was  for  the  emperor  a  favorable  pretext  for  attacking  the  Goths.  In 
the  year  535,  the  conqueror  of  Africa,  Belisarius,  unexpectedly  ap- 
peared in  Sicily,  at  the  head  of  seven  thousand  five  hundred  men. 
With  this  handful  of  soldiers  that  great  general  knew  how  to  achieve 
exploits,  which  others  would  have  found  difficult  to  accomplish  with 
very  numerous  armies^.  After  subduing  the  island,  he  passed  over 

*  The  empire  of  Constantinople  retained  for  many  centuries  the  name  of 
Roman  or  Eastern,  though  it  is  also  frequently  designated  by  the  appellation 
of  Greek  or  Lower  Empire. 

t  Eccles.  i,  2. 

j  This  appeared  particularly  in  the  year  537,  when  Belisarius,  after  taking 
Rome,  was  himself  besieged  in  that  city  by  an  army  of  one  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  men.  The  siege  lasted  twelve  months  and  nine  days,  during 
which  the  two  parties  engaged  seventy  times,  with  a  great  display  of  valor 
on  each  side :  but  Belisarius,  with  only  the  twentieth  part  of  the  enemy's 


148  MODERN  HISTORY. 


Part  IH. 


to  the  continent,  and  either  by  storm  or  surprise,  by  force  or  capitula- 
tion, took  Naples,  Rome,  Ravenna,  with  many  other  cities,  defeated 
the  Goths  on  several  occasions,  and  finally  compelled  their  king 
Vitiges  to  embark,  as  Gelimer  had  done,  for  Constantinople,  where 
the  Gothic  monarch  also  received  estates  and  honorable  titles  from 
Justinian,  as  a  compensation  for  the  loss  of  his  kingdom  (A.  D.  540). 

Still  the  power  of  the  Goths  in  Italy  was  not  yet  entirely  over- 
thrown. Notwithstanding  the  fatal  blow  it  had  just  received,  it  reco- 
vered for  a  time  its  former  strength,  and  even  acquired,  after  the  de- 
parture of  Belisarius,  an  astonishing  superiority,  under  the  conduct 
of  Totila,  whom  the  Goths  chose  for  their  leader  in  541. 

Of  all  the  successors  of  Theodoric  the  Great,  Totila  was  the  only 
one  who  perfectly  resembled  him  in  prudence,  activity,  valor,  justice 
and  generosity.  He  conquered  the  Roman  commanders  in  Italy,  as 
often  as  he  attacked  them,  and  retook  Rome  in  spite  of  all  the  exer- 
tions made  by  Belisarius  after  his  return  (A.  D.  546).  This  great 
general,  left  by  the  emperor  without  the  necessary  supplies  of  ammu- 
nition and  troops,  saw  his  former  prosperity  decline;  after  some 
years  of  fruitless  efforts,  he  resigned  the  command  of  the  army, 
and  left  to  Nurses  the  honor  of  terminating  the  war. 

Narses  was  one  of  those  extraordinary  men  whom  Providence  pre- 
pares, as  it  were,  in  secret,  for  the  prosperity  or  the  destruction  of 
states.  Though  a  stranger,  of  small  size  and  mean  appearance,  he 
had  risen  from  a  slave,  to  be  one  of  the  first  officers  in  the  palace 
of  Justinian.  The  deficiency  of  regular  studies  was  abundantly 
supplied  in  him  by  a  natural  and  noble  eloquence.  A  quick  and 
sound  judgment,  a  profound  and  extensive  genius,  wisdom  in  con- 
triving the  best  plans  and  activity  in  executing  them,  insured  the  suc- 
cess of  his  undertakings.  He  possessed  in  an  eminent  degree  all  the 
virtues  not  incompatible  with  a  certain  ambition,  above  all,  generosity 
and  beneficence.  As  for  his  talents  in  war,  they  only  wanted  an 
occasion  for  their  display,  and  without  having  been  a  soldier,  he  all 
at  once  appeared  a  consummate  general. 

Besides  these  natural  advantages,  Narses  enjoyed  the  favor  of  Jus- 
tinian, who  readily  granted  him  what  had  been  refused  to  Belisarius, 
viz:  all  the  troops,  money  and  ammunition  requisite  to  carry  on  the 
war  with  vigor  and  success.  Being  thus  well  provided  in  every  re- 
spect, he  had  but  to  appear  in  Italy,  to  check  the  prosperous  fortune 
of  the  Goths,  and  the  very  first  battle  which  he  fought,  in  the  plains 
of  Lentagio,  entirely  turned  the  scale  in  favor  of  the  Romans.  In 
vain  did  Totila  make  every  effort  to  maintain  the  superiority  which 

forces,  defeated  all  their  efforts,  and  finally  obliged  them  to  retire. — P»-o- 
copius,  De  Bdlo  Go/A.;  Lebeau,  Hist,  du  Bas^  empire,  vol.  ix.  b.  44,  j>p 
395—473. 


*,  D.  W7-565.  JUSTINIAN.  149 

he  had  acquired ;  his  army  was  completely  defeated,  his  bravest  war- 
riors were  killed,  and  he  himself,  heing  forced  to  fly  for  the  first  time 
in  his  life,  died  of  his  wounds  a  few  hours  after  the  battle.  Narses 
immediately  sent  to  Constantinople  the  news  of  his  victory,  together 
with  the  cuirass  and  the  crown  of  Totila ;  and  Justinian  received,  in 
the  middle  of  the  senate,  these  spoils  taken  from  a  prince  far  superior 
to  him  in  personal  merit  (A.  D.  552). 

The  Goths,  although  vanquished,  and  deeply  afflicted  at  the  death 
of  their  excellent  king,  did  not  lose  courage,  but  hastened  to  give 
him  a  worthy  successor  in  the  person  of  Teias,  the  bravest  of  his 
lieutenants.  In  this  arduous  post,  Teias  answered  as  well  as  he  pos- 
sibly could  the  hopes  of  his  nation,  and,  being  unable  to  save  it,  strove 
at  least  to  retard  its  entire  overthrow.  He  rallied  the  remains  of  the 
Gothic  army,  and  leaving  the  open  country  to  the  victorious  troops  of 
Narses,  went  to  occupy  a  strong  position  near  Mount  Vesuvius.  The 
Roman  general,  at  the  head  of  all  his  forces,  pursued  him  so  closely, 
that  the  Goths  began  to  suffer  considerably  from  famine.  Then,  con- 
sidering the  decaying  state  of  their  fortune,  which  was  on  the  point 
of  being  utterly  lost,  these  magnanimous  and  last  survivors  of  a  na- 
tion formerly  so  flourishing,  looked  at  their  swords,  and  resolved  to 
fight  once  more,  either  to  conquer  by  a  last  effort,  or  at  least  to  die 
with  glory. 

No  sooner  had  they  come  to  this  determination,  than,  descending 
from  the  heights,  they  rushed  with  desperate  fury  against  the  enemy  : 
but  the  resistance  was  not  less  vigorous  than  the  attack  was  violent. 
The  Romans  were  encouraged  by  the  remembrance  of  past  success, 
and  an  implicit  confidence  in  the  superior  talents  of  their  general:  the 
Goths  were  animated  by  despair  and  by  the  example  of  their  king, 
who  having  taken  his  post  in  the  first  rank,  displayed  the  most  heroic 
courage,  and,  for  the  space  of  four  hours,  spread  among  the  enemy 
terror  and  death.  Assailed  as  he  was  by  a  multitude  of  javelins  and 
arrows,  Teias,  immovable  as  a  rock,  with  one  hand  warded  off  the 
weapons,  and,  with  the  other,  slew  as  many  Romans  as  came  within 
his  reach.  At  length,  unable  to  bear  up  his  shield,  which  was  pierced 
with  twelve  javelins,  he  asked  for  another.  Whilst  he  was  taking  it 
from  the  hands  of  his  armor-bearer,  and  putting  off  the  first,  his 
breast  for  an  instant  remained  uncovered ;  at  this  very  moment,  he 
received  a  deadly  blow;  he  however  continued  to  fight  until  he 
became  exhausted,  and  then  fell  with  his  face  towards  the  enemy. 

The  Romans  cut  off  the  head  of  this  valiant  prince,  and  exposed 
it,  on  the  top  of  a  pike,  to  the  gaze  of  both  armies,  especially  to  that 
of  the  Goths,  in  order  to  throw  them  into  consternation  and  despair. 
But  the  courage  of  those  intrepid  warriors,  instead  of  being  abated 
by  this  melancholy  event,  was  rather  increased  by  the  desire  of 
13* 

i 


150  MODERN   HISTORY.  PartJIJ, 

avenging  the  death  of  Teias.  They  therefore  continued  fighting  with 
great  heroism, 'tinti!  the  darkness  of  night  separated  them  from  the 
Romans.  Both  parties  spent  the  night  on  the  field  of  battle,  and,  as 
soon  as  the  dawn  appeared,  the  combat  was  renewed  with  the  same 
fury  and  maintained  with  the  same  obstinacy  as  the  day  before;  nor 
could  Narses  put  to  flight  enemies  who  were  few  in  number, 
wounded  and  fatigued,  but,  at  the  same  time,  buoyed  up  by  their 
excitement,  and  making  their  last  desperate  effort.  Giving  up  the 
hope  of  conquering  men  to  whom  liberty  was  dearer  than  life,  he  per- 
mitted them  to  retire  unmolested,  on  condition  that  they  would  never 
more  unsheath  their  swords  against  the  empire ;  after  this,  he  easily 
achieved  the  conquest  of  Italy  (A.  D.  553).  The  kingdom  of  the  Ostro- 
goths thus  disappeared  for  ever,  after  a  short  duration  of  sixty  years, 
during  which  it  had  produced  three  heroes  worthy  of  that  name,  Theo- 
doric,  Totila  and  Teias.  The  authority  of  Justinian  being  now  ac- 
knowledged throughout  Italy,  Narses,  by  his  appointment  and  in  his 
name,  governed  the  country  which  he  had  so  gloriously  subjugated. 

Warfare  however  was  not  yet  entirely  at  an  end,  owing  to  the  share 
that  the  French  took  for  a  long  time  in  these  public  broils.  The 
successors  of  Clovis  had  inherited  his  warlike  spirit,  which  they  all 
exerted  in  subduing  the  little  neighboring  states:  but  none  among 
them  became  as  remarkable  in  this  respect,  as  Theodebertus,  king  of 
Austrasia  and  of  a  considerable  part  of  Germany.  So  great  was  his 
reputation  for  ability  and  valor,  that  both  the  Greeks  and  the  Ostro- 
goths, from  the  very  beginning  of  their  contest,  eagerly  courted  his 
alliance.  He  promised  it  to  each  nation,  but  was  faithful  to  neither, 
his  design  being  to  conquer  for  himself.  With  this  interested  view, 
he  crossed  the  Alps  at  the  head  of  a  powerful  army,  attacked  both 
parties  successively,  defeated  them,  and  would  probably  have  re- 
mained sole  master  of  the  disputed  regions,  had  not  a  contagious 
distemper,  which  broke  out  among  his  soldiers,  obliged  him  to  re- 
tire with  considerable  loss  (A.  r>.  539). 

After  his  retreat,  though  none  of  those  who  followed  him  had  pe- 
rished by  the  sword  of  the  Romans,  Justinian  had  the  ridiculous 
vanity  to  assume  the  title  of  Francicus,  or  conqueror  of  the  French. 
Theodebertus,  filled  with  indignation,  resolved  to  avenge  the  insult, 
and  by  following  the  course  of  the  Danube,  to  invade  Thrace,  and 
then  attack  the  very  capital  of  the  Greek  empire.  Already  great  pre- 
parations were  making  for  this  purpose,  and  the  emperor  began  to 
tremble  in  Constantinople,  when  Theodebertus  d>ed  in  the  flower  of 
his  age  (A.  D.  548),  and  there  was  none  after  him  skilful  or  bold 
enough  to  execute  his  projects. 

It  was  only  towards  the  end  of  the  Gothic  war,  that  two  of  hia 
successor's  generals,  Leutharis  and  Bucelin,  undertook  in  their  own 


A.  P.  627-565.  JUSTINIAN.  151 

name  the  defence  of  the  Goths,  who  were  now  deprived  of  every 
other  resource.  They  passed  across  the  Alps  into  I^Y»  w*m  seventy- 
five  thousand  warriors,  French  and  Germans.  This  army,  like  a  fu- 
rious torrent,  overran  the  whole  peninsula,  from  the  northern  pro- 
vinces to  the  southern  extremity  of  Calabria,  sweeping  away  or  de 
stroying  every  thing  in  its  impetuous  course.  Leutharis  then  desired 
to  secure  his  booty  by  returning  to  the  north,  but  was  entirely 
foiled  in  his  design.  Being  first  defeated  by  the  Romans  during  his 
march,  he  had  scarcely  reached  and  recrossed  the  river  Po,  when  a 
dreadful  pestilence  carried  him  off,  with  nearly  all  his  soldiers ;  a  just 
punishment  for  the  depredations  and  cruelties  which  they  had  com- 
mitted. 

In  the  meanwhile,  the  army  of  Bucelin  was  also  in  a  very  per- 
plexed condition :  Narses,  unable,  in  the  opening  of  the  campaign, 
to  stop  his  progress,  succeeded  at  last  in  famishing  his  wearied  troops; 
this  induced  the  German  chieftain  to  engage  in  a  general  battle,  rather 
than  let  all  his  followers  die  of  sickness  and  starvation.  The  two 
armies  met  near  Capua,  on  the  banks  of  the  little  river  Casilino,  from 
which  the  bloody  fight  took  its  name.  Never  was  there  witnessed 
greater  impetuosity  on  the  one  side,  nor  more  valiant  resistance  on 
the  other;  nor  was  there  ever  a  more  striking  proof  the  superiority 
of  true  courage  regulated  by  discipline,  over  blind  and  unrestrained 
bravery.  Although  the  Romans  and  their  auxiliaries  found  them- 
selves at  first  in  great  danger,  from  the  violence  of  the  enemy's  at- 
tack, the  defeat  of  the  French  and  Germans  was  so  complete,  that, 
out  of  thirty  thousand,  only  five  men  escaped,  all  the  others  being 
slain  with  their  general ;  whereas  the  conquerors,  whose  number 
scarcely  amounted  to  eighteen  thousand,  did  not  lose  more  than 
eighty  men.  All  of  them  had  performed  prodigies  of  valor;  but  the 
honor  of  the  day  was  by  every  one  attributed  to  Narses,  whose  pre- 
sence of  mind  and  superior  genius  had  changed  into  so  glorious  a 
triumph,  a  combat  the  beginning  of  which  seemed  almost  desperate 
for  the  Romans  (A.  D.  554).  Shortly  after,  he  cut  to  pieces  another 
party  of  French,  who  were  occupying  a  large  portion  of  the  country 
between  the  Po  and  the  mountains':  so  many  losses  made  them  aban- 
don the  hope  of  obtaining  a  footing  in  Italy. 

Whilst  the  bravest  troops  and  the  ablest  generals  of  the  empire 
were  thus  employed  in  the  West,  the  Persians  had  recommenced  the 
war  in  the  East.  During  many  years,  their  king  Chosroes  I,  sur- 
named  the  Great,  spread  devastation  through  the  rich  provinces  of 
Mesopotamia  and  Syria,  burning  or  sacking  the  towns,  plundering 
the  country,  and  routing  the  armies  sent  for  its  defence.  He  several 
times  returned,  after  his  campaigns  to  Persia  with  an  immense  booty, 
or  after  having  forced  Justinian  to  pay  him  a  heavy  tribute.  Belisa- 


152  MODERN     HISTORY.  '  Part  HI. 

rius  repaired  in  some  degree  the  dishonor  of  the  Roman  arms;  but 
after  his  deparfWe,  when  he  went  to  Italy  for  the  second  time,  it  daily 
increased  under  other  generals;  particularly  when  thirty  thousand  Ro- 
mans were  defeated  by  four  thousand  Persians,  and,  on  another  oc- 
casion, fifty  thousand  by  three  thousand  only.*  At  length,  a  signal  vic- 
tory arid  other  advantages  gained  by  the  troops  of  Justinian,  permitted 
him  to  conclude  a  truce  less  disgraceful  to  the  empire  (A.  D.  555). 

This  truce  was  the  more  opportune  as  the  state  was  visited  at  this 
period  with  many  other  calamities.  Earthquakes  overthrew  several 
buildings,  and  pestilence  destroyed  many  of  the  inhabitants  of  Con- 
stantinople; on  the  other  hand,  the  Huns  made  a  furious  irruption 
into  Thrace,  and  advanced  so  far  as  to  threaten  the  capital.  Belisa- 
rius  was  once  more,  on  this  occasion,  the  glorious  defender  and  the 
strongest  bulwark  of  the  empire.  Though  scarcely  able,  on  account 
of  old  age,  to  wield  a  sword,  he  marched  out  with  a  handful  of  war- 
riors against  the  barbarians,  and  obliged  them  to  retire  (559). 

In  return  for  so  many  services,  the  suspicious  emperor,  deceived 
by  the  slanders  of  the  court,  and  believing  Belisarius  privy  to  a  late 
conspiracy,  stripped  this  great  man  of  all  his  honors,  and  condemned 
him  to  an  ignominious  confinement  which  lasted  seven  months.  It 
is  even  said  and  believed  by  many  that  his  eyes  were  put  out,  and 
that  he  was  reduced  to  so  great  a  misery,  as  to  beg  his  bread  in  the 
streets  of  Constantinople.  But  this  seems  to  be  a  mere  tale,  quite 
unknown  to  contemporary  historians,  and  founded  on  no  better  au- 
thority than  that  of  John  Tzetzes,  an  injudicious  Greek  writer  of  the 
twelfth  century.  More  ancient  authors,  as  Cedrenus  and  Theophanes, 
instead  of  mentioning  any  such  fact,  relate  that  Belisarius  recovered 
his  dignities  and  the  friendship  of  the  emperor. 

Both  of  them  died  shortly  after,  and  in  the  same  year  (565).  Jus- 
tinian was  in  the  eighty-fourth  year  of  his  life,  and  the  thirty-ninth 
of  a  reign  which  had  been  more  famous  abroad  than  prosperous  at 
home,  especially  towards  its  close.  The  armies  now  stood  in  a 
miserable  condition  for  want  of  regular  pay,  and  the  provinces 
were  groaning  under  the  pressure  of  heavy  taxes,  which  served 
only  to  enrich  covetous  courtiers,  or  were  spent  in  purchasing  peace 
from  the  barbarians.  Moreover,  the  emperor's  munificence  often 
degenerated  into  prodigality ;  this  being  added  to  an  inordinate  pas- 
sion for  new  buildings,  one  of  the  incorrigible  defects  of  Justinian, 
caused  immense  sums  to  be  expended,  that  might  have  been  much 
better  employed. 

It  should  also  be  remarked  that,  after  having  amended  the  Roman 
legislation,  he  frequently  altered  his  own  laws,  or  suffered  them  to 

*  Lebeau,  Hist,  du  Bas.  empire,  vol.  x,  pp.  225-228;  and  vol.  xr,  18-22, 
.  and  Procop.  De  Bello  Persico. 


*.  D.  565^583,       JUSTIN  II. TIBERIUS  II.  153 

be  changed  by  his  courtiers  and  ministers,  in  accordance  with  their 
interests  and  passions.  The  same  inconstancy,  and  a  weak  conde- 
scension for  his  haughty  and  wicked  wife  Theodora,  often  betrayed 
him  into  wrong  and  unjust  measures,  so  far  as  to  disgrace  his  ardent 
zeal  for  religion  by  the  violence  of  his  measures,  and  by  his  conti- 
nual attempts  to  rule  and  direct  the  affairs  of  the  Church,  whilst  he 
neglected  those  of  the  empire.  Owing  to  his  imprudence,  the  fao- 
tions  of  the  circus  excited  many  disturbances,  sometimes  even  bloody 
seditions  in  Constantinople,  the  emperor's  blind  partiality  for  one  oif 
the  parties  having  increased  their  mutual  animosity,  which  continued 
under  his  successors,  and  proved  one  of  the  greatest  calamities  of 
that  capital.  In  a  word,  although  Justinian  possessed  great  talents 
and  many  virtues,  one  might  reasonably  think,  from  the  general 
tenor  of  his  government,  that  he  was  rather  an  idle  spectator  of  the 
splendid  transactions  which  occurred  during  his  reign,  and  that  he 
really  did  less  good  than  evil  to  both  Church  and  State. 

However,  it  would  be  unjust  to  deny  that  this  emperor  had  noble 
views,  and  formed  truly  glorious  designs.  The  reformation  of  juris- 
prudence, the  conquest  of  Italy  and  Africa,  his  endeavors  to  increase 
the  power  and  splendor  of  the  empire,  were  certainly  undertakings 
calculated  to  confer  undying  honor  on  any  reign.  If  he  did  not  him- 
self carry  them  into  execution,  his  at  least  was  the  glory  of  having 
contrived  the  plans,  furnished  the  means,  and  effected  their  accom- 
plishment through  the  instrumentality  of  talented  individuals  whose 
services  Divine  Providence  placed  at  his  disposal. 


JUSTIN  II.— TIBERIUS  II.— A.  r.  565—582. 

AT  the  death  of  Justinian,  who  left  no  issue,  the  imperial  sceptre 
passed  into  the  hands  of  his  nephew,  Justin  II.  This  prince  com- 
menced his  reign  with  universal  applause,  having,  on  the  very  first 
day,  redressed  many  grievances,  and  paid  innumerable  debts  con- 
tracted by  Justinian  in  his  old  age.  His  subsequent  conduct  was  not, 
it  is  true,  always  marked  by  the  same  love  of  law  and  justice ;  still,  the 
emperor  displayed  it  on  many  other  occasions,  particularly  in  the 
following  occurrence,  which  is  well  deserving  of  notice. 

In  order  to  check  fraud  and  extortion  in  the  capital,  Justin  ap- 
pointed for  its  prefect  a  magistrate  of  renowned  integrity,  who  was 
not  less  firm  in  the  discharge  of  his  duty,  than  upright  and  virtuous. 
He  invested  him  with  unlimited  power  to  punish,  without  appeal 
and  without  hope -of  pardon,  all  criminals,  of  whatever  rank  or  con- 
dition; a  just,  though  severe  sta'ute,  which  frightened  all  iniquitous 


154  MODERN    HISTORY.  Part  III. 

men  and  extortioners,  one  only  excepted,  a  proud  nobleman,  who 
thought  himself  above  the  reach  of  either  divine  or  human  law.  A 
complaint  was  lodged  against  this  man  by  a  poor  widow  whom  he 
had  robbed  of  all  her  property.  The  prelect,  through  regard  for  the 
Accused,  who  was  a  relation  to  the  emperor,  wrote  to  him,  and  intrust- 
ing the  letter  to  no  one  but  the  injured  widow,  begged  him  to  indera 
nil'y  her  for  the  wrong  she  had  suffered.  The  only  satisfaction  she 
received,  was  insult  and  ill  treatment. 

The  prefect,  hearing  this,  was  inflamed  with  indignation,  and 
summoned  the  offender  before  his  tribunal ;  but  his  new  orders  were 
equally  despised,  and  answered  only  with  fresh  insults  and  railleries 
against  botli  the  judge  and  the  judgment.  Instead  of  appearing,  the 
haughty  nobieman  went  to  the  palace,  where  he  was  invited  to  dine 
with  a  great  number  of  courtiers.  No  sooner  did  the  prefect  know 
that  he  was  at  table  with  the  emperor,  than  he  himself  entered 
the  dining-room,  and  said  to  Justin:  "  My  lord,  if  you  persist  in  the 
resolution  which  you  have  manifested  of  punishing  oppression  and 
violence,  I  also  shall  continue  to  fulfil  your  orders.  But  if  you  re- 
nounce a  design  so  worthy  of  you,  if  the  worst  of  men  are  honored 
with  your  favor  and  admitted  to  your  table,  receive  my  resignation 
of  an  office  which  becomes  useless  to  your  subjects,  and  cannot  but 
be  displeasing  to  yourself.57  To  this  noble  remonstrance  Justin  an- 
swered that  he  had  not  changed  his  mind.  "  Punish,"  said  he  to 
the  prefect,  "punish  injustice  every  where  j  were  it  even  seated  with 
me  upon  the  throne,  I  would  rather  descend,  to  deliver  it  up  to  pun- 
ishment." The  virtuous  magistrate  did  not  desire  more :  emboldened 
by  this  answer,  he  presently  ordered  the  culprit  to  be  seized  in  the 
midst  of  the  guests,  and  carried  before  his  tribunal.  The  widow's 
complaints  were  heard,  and  as  that  man,  before  so  arrogant,  and  now 
speechless  and  trembling,  could  not  urge  any  thing  in  his  defence, 
the  prefect  caused  him  to  be  stripped  and  beaten  with  rods,  and 
then  to  ride  upon  an  ass,  with  his  face  turned  to  the  tail,  through 
all  the  streets  of  the  city;  his  effects  were  moreover  forfeited  for  the 
benefit  of  the  widow.  This  exemplary  chastisement  stopped  for 
some  time  the  course  of  usurpation  and  extortion.  The  emperor 
rewarded  the  resolute  conduct  of  the  prefect  by  raising  him  to  the 
rank  of  a  patrician,  and  confirming  him  in  his  charge  for  the  remain- 
der of  his  life.* 

The  other  qualifications  of  Justin  were  not  equal  to  his  zeal  for 
the  enforcement  of  the  laws  and  of  good  order.  He  was  dissolute, 

*  This  act  of  firmness  and  vigor  is  by  some  referred  to  the  reign  of  Justin 
I,  but  more  probably  belongs  to  that  of  Justin  II,  and  to  the  year  574  or 
near  that  time. — See  Lebeau,  Histoirc  du  Bas  empire,  vol.  xr,  pp.  235-237 ; 
— Petavius,  Rationarium  temporum,  vol.  i,p.  409. 


i.  ».  565-582.         JUSTIN    II. TIBERIUS    II.  155 

indolent,  pusillanimous,  and,  at  the  same  time,  haughty  to  excess 
towards  the  ambassadors  of  foreign  nations.  This  unbecoming  pride, 
which  his  wife  Sophia  too  faithfully  imitated,  occasioned  bloody 
wars,  and  caused  great  losses  to  the  empire.  That  princess,  having 
long  since  harbored  a  deep  hatred  against  Narses,  the  conqueror, 
and  at  that  time,  the  governor  of  Italy,  sent  him  a  spindle  and  a  dis- 
taff, with  a  scornful  letter,  telling  him  that  those  articles  were  more 
suitable  for  him  than  the  command  of  armies  and  the  government  of 
provinces:  for  which  reason  she  ordered  him  to  depart  from  Italy, 
and  return  to  Constantinople,  to  be  employed  in  the  palace. 

Narses  had  virtue,  firmness  and  courage,  but  not  to  such  a  degree 
as  patiently  to  bear  so  cruel  an  affront.  On  the  perusal  of  the  letter, 
his  eyes  sparkled  with  wrath,  and,  in  a  sarcastic  tone  :  "  Go,"  said 
he  to  the  messenger,  "  and  tell  the  empress,  that  I  will  cut  out  for 
her  more  work  than  she  desires."  He  immediately  wrote  to  the  na- 
tion of  the  Lombards  (so  called  from  their  long  beards),  inviting  them 
to  come  and  invade  Italy.  He  soon  repented  of  his  treason,  and 
died  with  the  bitter  regret  of  having  by  that  one  act,  dishonored  a  life 
of  ninety-five  years,  the  last  portion  of  which  had  been  ennobled  by 
so  many  glorious  achievements.*  But  this  repentance  came  too  late 
to  prevent  the  evil  consequences  of  his  rash  step  :  the  Lombards  had 
already  set  out  under  the  guidance  of  their  King  Alboin  (568). 
They  crossed  the  Alps  from  the  north-east,  and  meeting  with  little 
opposition,  subdued  all  that  part  of  the  peninsula  which  received  from 
them  the  name  of  Lombardy.  Pavia  was  the  capital  of  this  new 
kingdom.  The  invaders  did  not  advance  far  enough,  or  in  sufficient 
numbers,  to  take  the  other  chief  cities,  Rome,  Naples,  Ravenna,  etc.; 
these  therefore  continued,  for  nearly  two  centuries  more,  under  the 
power  of  the  emperors  of  Constantinople,  Ravenna  being  chosen,  on 
account  of  its  advantageous  situation,  to  be  the  residence  of  the 
governors  whom  they  appointed  under  the  title  of  exarchs. 

The  imprudence  of  Justin  gave  rise  also  to  a  new  war  against  the 
Persians,  the  beginning  of  which  did  great  injury  to  the  Romans. 
Whilst  the  emperor,  more  ready  to  threaten  than  to  execute,  remained 
shut  up  in  his  palace,  Chosroes,  ever  active  and  intrepid,  unexpect- 
edly appeared  on  the  frontiers  at  the  head  of  one  hundred  and  forty 
thousand  men,  attacked  Mesopotamia  and  Syria,  and  with  little  or  no 
opposition,  desolated  those  rich  provinces.  The  intelligence  of  these 

*  In  this  we  follow  the  account  commonly  given  by  historians ;  still  it 
should  be  observed,  in  justification  of  Narses,  that  several  learned  critics 
deny  his  having  yielded  to  his  resentment  and  made  any  proposal  to  the 
Lombards  about  the  invasion  of  Italy ;  which  invasion,  they  say,  wag 
undertaken  for  a  variety  of  other  causes. — Ste  Jinnales  du  moyeii  age,  vol. 
ii  r,  p.  188. — Lebeau,  vol.  xi,  pp..  178,  179. 


156  MODERN  HISTORY. 


Fart  HI. 


disasters  threw  Justin  into  such  a  melancholy  as  degenerated  into 
real  madness,  the  paroxysms  of  which  became  more  and  more  fre- 
quent. Having  fortunately  retained  his  senses  sufficiently  to  feel  that 
he  was  no  longer  able  to  govern  without  a  colleague,  he  made  choice 
of  Tiberius,  the  commander  of  his  guards,  a  man  universally  respected 
for  his  prudence  and  virtue,  and  intrusted  to  him  the  reins  of 
government  (A.  D.  574). 

It  would  have  been  difficult  to  make  a  better  choice;  and  Chosroea 
soon  perceived,  to  his  cost,  that  the  imperial  court  was  now  directed 
by  a  more  vigorous  hand.  He  saw  the  career  of  his  triumphs  and 
prosperity  checked  at  the  battle  of  Melitine,  a  town  of  Lesser  Armenia, 
where  he  found  himself  opposed  by  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
men,  Romans  and  auxiliaries,  whom  Tiberius  had  mustered  from  the 
different  parts  of  the  empire  as  well  as  from  the  surrounding  nations. 
Notwithstanding  the  exertions  of  Chosroes  during  the  contest,  most 
of  the  Persians  were  put  to  the  sword,  or  driven  into  the  Euphrates, 
where  they  perished.  The  dejected  monarch  fled  with  all  haste  to 
the  extremities  of  Persia,  and  died  in  grief  and  despair,  after  a  memo- 
rable reign  of  forty-eight  years. 

Whilst  Tiberius  was  thus  restoring  the  honor  of  the  Roman 
armies,  he  was  not  less  careful  to  restore  the  interior  tranquillity  of 
the  state.  Crimes  and  extortions  were  checked  by  severe  laws. 
The  vain  magnificence  and  useless  expenses  of  the  imperial  court 
were  abolished,  and  by  this  wise  measure  Tiberius  enabled  himself 
to  support  the  standing  army,  diminish  the  taxes,  relieve  the  wants 
of  divers  provinces,  and  gain  the  hearts  of  his  subjects,  by  conferring 
on  them  benefits  worthy  of  a  great  prince.  He  considered  them  all 
as  his  children,  the  state  as  his  family,  and  the  sovereign  power  as 
a  blessing  which  he  must  render,  as  much  as  possible,  common  to 
all,  by  his  equity,  kindness  and  liberality. 

Amidst  these  laudable  employments,  the  death  of  Justin,  in  578, 
left  him  sole  master.  As  the  empress  Sophia,  by  her  counsels  and 
influence,  had  been  instrumental  in  placing  him  on  the  throne,  she 
expected  that,  as  she  was  now  a  widow,  he  would  marry  her,  and 
thus  enable  her  to  preserve  the  title  of  empress.  But  Tiberius  was 
already  married,  a  fact  of  which  she  was  not  aware.  On  the  day  of 
his  coronation,  he  made  his  virtuous  wife,  Anastasia,  suddenly  appear 
in  the  sight  of  the  people,  and  crowned  her  with  his  own  hands,  to 
the  extreme  joy  of  all  the  spectators  except  Sophia,  whose  disap- 
pointment can  scarcely  be  imagined.  This  ambitious  princess,  in  the 
violence  of  her  resentment,  did  all  in  her  power  to  dethrone  a  sove- 
reign to  whose  elevation  she  had  so  much  contributed.  Tiberius 
contented  himself  with  depriving1  her  of  the  great  riches  which  had 


MAURITIUS.  157 

been  left  at  her  disposal,  and  in  spite  of  her  intrigues,  remained  in 
quiet  possession  of  the  throne. 

He  occupied  it  only  four  years,  and  during  this  short  interval,  con- 
stantly displayed  virtues  equal  to  his  rank.  To  procure  the  welfare 
of  his  people  and  maintain  the  honor  of  the  empire,  were  now,  as 
they  had  hitherto  been,  the  constant  objects  of  his  solicitude.  If,  for 
want  of  sufficient  forces,  he  could  not  expel  the  Lombards  from  their 
conquests  in  Italy,  nor  prevent  the  Avari,  a  Scythian  nation,  from 
obtaining  a  similar  settlement  in  Pannonia ;  he  at  least  continued, 
though  desirous  of  peace,  to  gain  great  advantages  against  the  Per- 
sians, whose  new  king  Hormisdas  was  obstinately  bent  on  prosecu- 
ting the  war. 

For  these  successes,  the  emperor  was  chiefly  indebted  to  Mauritius, 
commander  of  his  armies  in  the  East.  Mauritius  was  a  man  of 
great  valor  and  experience,  and,  with  the  exception  of  a  certain  taint 
of  avarice,  still  more  commendable  for  the  qualities  of  his  heart. 
Tiberius,  whose  health  was  rapidly  declining,  thought  he  could  do 
nothing  better  for  the  state  than  to  appoint  him  his  successor.  This 
he  did  in  a  solemn  assembly  with  universal  applause,  and  died  the 
next  day  (14th  of  August,  582),  leaving  Constantinople  in  deep 
affliction  for  the  loss  of  so  excellent  an  emperor,  and  yet  in  the  cheer- 
ing hope  of  equal  prosperity  under  the  new  sovereign. 


MAURITIUS,— A.  D.  582—602 

THE  triumphs  of  Mauritius  over  the  Persians  had  raised  him  to  the 
throne :  in  order  to  maintain  his  own  work,  and  pursue  the  course 
of  his  victories,  he  sent  numerous  armies  to  the  frontiers ;  but  the 
misunderstanding  of  the  troops  and  generals  permitted  the  enemy  to 
regain  the  superiority  in  the  first  campaigns.  At  length,  good  order 
was  re-established,  and  the  Persians  were  conquered  in  many  battles. 
These  defeats,  joined  to  the  intolerable  pride  and  cruelty  of  Hormis- 
das, roused  his  subjects  against  him.  He  was  thrown  into  a  dun- 
geon, and  shortly  after,  put  to  death,  with  the  consent  of  his  son 
Chosroes  II,  who  began  to  reign  in  his  place. 

But  Chosroes  himself  was  not  secure  upon  a  throne  lately  stained 
with  his  father's  blood.  A  considerable  portion  of  the  army  perse- 
vered in  its  rebellion  against  the  royal  family,  and  defeated  the  troops 
of  the  king.  In  this  distress,  Chosroes,  trusting  more  to  a  generous 
enemy  than  to  disloyal  subjects,  fled  for  refuge  to  the  Roman  boun- 
daries, from  which  he  wrote  a  moving  letter  to  Mauritius,  requesting 
his  assistance  and  protection.  Mauritius  liberally  complied  with  the 
14 


158  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Part  III 


request :  by  his  orders,  the  fugitive  monarch  was  treated  in  a  manner 
worthy  of  a  sovereign,  and  moreover  supplied  with  a  powerful  army, 
whose  exertions  enabled  him  to  re-enter  his  own  dominions  in  tri- 
umph, to  crush  the  rebels,  and  regain  the  undisturbed  possession  of 
his  kingdom  (A.  D.  593). 

In  return  for  these  signal  benefits,  Chosroes  yielded  to  the  Romans 
the  territories  and  cities  for  which  so  much  blood  had  been  shed  and 
so  many  battles  fought  within  the  last  years.  A  permanent  peace 
was  concluded  between  Persia  and  the  empire ;  and  thus,  instead  of 
meanly  fomenting  the  internal  feuds  of  a  powerful  and  rival  state, 
Mauritius  had  the  honor  of  bringing  them  to  a  happy  termination, 
of  replacing  an  exiled  sovereign  upon  his  throne,  and  of  ending,  by 
an  act  of  generosity  far  more  commendable  than  all  his  victories,  a 
long  and  violent  struggle  which  had  proved  so  fatal  to  both  nations. 

The  emperor  then  directed  his  attention  chiefly  to  the  defence  of 
the  northern  frontier  against  the  attacks  of  the  Avari.  These  barba- 
rians were  accustomed  to  a  life  of  warfare  and  pillage  :  frequently 
victorious  and  successful  in  their  attempts,  sometimes  conquered  and 
repulsed,  they  incessantly  renewed  their  inroads,  and  spread  devas- 
tation through  Mesia,  Thrace  and  other  provinces.  At  last,  a  mas- 
terly expedition  of  Priscus,  one  of  the  Roman  generals,  in  601, 
almost  annihilated  their  forces,  without  however  destroying  their 
warlike  and  restless  spirit. 

This  brave  commander,  having  resolved  to  strike  a  signal  blow, 
crossed  the  Danube  with  the  intention  of  attacking  the  Avari  upon 
their  own  territories,  and  immediately  sent  away  the  boats,  in  order 
to  reduce  his  own  soldiers  to  the  necessity  of  conquering  or  perishing. 
This  being  done,  he  marched  out  of  his  camp,  with  all  his  troops 
drawn  up  in  battle  array;  and,  as  it  was  the  custom  of  the  barbarians 
to  fight  in  separate  bodies  and  in  a  desultory  manner,  Priscus  divided 
his  army  into  three  square  battalions,  the  better  to  face  the  enemy  on 
all  sides.  He  ordered  them,  moreover,  not  to  use  their  arrows,  but 
to  come  to  close  fight  with  their  pikes  and  javelins.  This  first  com- 
bat ended  only  with  the  day,  and  the  issue  was  favorable  to  the  Ro- 
mans; for,  whilst  their  loss  did  not  amount  to  more  than  three  hun- 
dred men,  they  had  killed  four  thousand  of  the  Avari. 

The  enemy  did  not  appear  for  two  days.  On  the  morning  of  the 
'third,  Priscus  drew  up  his  army  in  the  same  order  as  before,  but, 
during  the  contest,  gradually  extended  its  wings,  so  as  to  enclose  the 
barbarians,  who  lost  nine  thousand  men  on  that  day.  The  ten  fol- 
lowing days  passed  without  any  new  engagement.  Priscus,  ani- 
mated by  his  first  success,  and  seeing  the  Avari  at  a  stand,  went 
forward  to  provoke  them  a  third  time  to  battle.  H<?  posted  his  troops 
on  the  declivity  of  a  hill,  at  the  bottom  of  which  there  was  a  lake. 


A.  ».  582-602.  MAURITIUS.  159 

The  Romans  rushed  upon  the  barbarians  with  such  fury,  and  drove 
them  towards  the  lake  with  such  irrresistible  force,  that  fifteen  thou- 
sand of  them  were  put  to  the  sword,  or  perished  in  the  water.  Of 
this  number  were  the  four  sons  of  the  Kan  (chief  of  the  Avari);  and 
the  Kan  himself  was,  for  some  moments,  in  great  danger,  which  he 
escaped  only  by  a  precipitate  flight. 

Priscus,  having  let  his  troops  take  some  repose,  went  in  search  of 
the  Avari,  and  fought  them  in  a  fourth  and  equally  successful  battle, 
which  obliged  the  vanquished  to  retreat  beyond  the  river  Teissa. 
The  conqueror  sent  four  thousand  men  to  observe  them,  and  examine 
their  new  position.  This  detachment  found  in  a  certain  borough  a 
great  multitude  of  Gepidoc,  subjects  of  the  Avarian  nation,  who  had 
just  come  to  celebrate  one  of  their  solemn  feasts.  These  barbarians, 
not  being  informed  of  the  issue  of  the  last  battle,  were  enjoying 
themselves  at  table  during  the  night,  particularly  in  drinking:  the 
Romans  arrived  just  at  that  time,  and  easily  slew  thirty  thousand  of 
them;  they  then  returned,  loaded  with  booty,  to  their  camp  on  the 
other  side  of  the  river. 

Twenty  days  more  having  elapsed,  the  Kan,  at  the  head  of  a  con- 
siderable force,  recrossed  the  Teissa,  and  challenged  the  Romans  to 
a  filth  battle.  His  obstinate  resolution  was  still  of  no  avail,  and  this 
victory  of  Priscus  crowned  the  success  of  his  glorious  campaign, 
which  had  not  lasted  more  than  two  months.  The  numerous  army 
of  the  Avari  was  either  cut  to  pieces  or  drowned  in  the  river.  There 
remained  only  about  seventeen  thousand  men,  many  of- whom  were 
taken  prisoners;  but,  shortly  after,  the  Kan  had  the  good  fortune  to 
recover  them  by  a  stratagem,  and  with  them  repaired,  in  some  mea- 
sure, the  great  losses  of  his  nation. 

It  was  just  the  reverse  with  the  Greek  emperor,  whose  political 
career,  so  successful  in  the  beginning,  ended  in  a  hloody  tragedy  of 
which  he  and  all  his  family  were  the  victims.  During  one  of  the 
preceding  campaigns,  the  Avari  had  taken  twelve  thousand  Roman 
prisoners,  whom  Mauritius  refused  to  redeem,  though  but  a  trifling 
sum  was  asked  for  their  ransom ;  and  this  refusal  so  enraged  the 
barbarians,  that  they  put  them  all  to  the  sword.  The  emperor  then 
began  to  be  stung  with  remorse,  gave  large  alms,  and  prayed  that 
God  would  rather  punish  him  in  this  life,  than  in  the  next.  His 
prayer  was  heard,  and  he  himself  unknowingly  prepared  the  way 
for  its  accomplishment. 

The  late  conduct  of  this  prince  with  regard  to  the  prisoners,  had 
already  provoked  loud  complaints  against  him,  when,  in  the  year 
602,  he  'ordered  the  troops  on  the  frontier  to  take  up  their  quarters 
in  the  enemy's  country,  and  to  subsist  there  by  plunder  during 
winter.  The  soldiers  exasperated  at  this  command,  chose  one  Pho- 


160  MODERN   HISTORY.  Part  m. 

cas,  a  daring,  ambitious  man,  for  their  leader,  and  marched  to  Con- 
stantinople, where  he  was  crowned  emperor.  Mauritius  endeavored  to 
make  his  escape,  and  passed  indeed  to  the  opposite  shore;  but  he  was 
overtaken  with  his  family.  His  five  sons  were  slain  before  his  eyes 
al  Chalcedon,  whilst  he  repeated  these  words  of  the  Royal  Prophet: 
Thou  arL  just,  OLcrd,  and  tliy  judgment  is  right;*  and  when  the  nurse 
offered  her  own  child  instead  of  his  youngest,  he  would  not  suffer  it. 
Last  of  all,  he  himself  was  massacred,  and,  after  having  shown  him- 
self a  great  general  and  an  emperor  of  some  ability,  he  appeared  in 
his  last  moments  a  true  and  magnanimous  hero.  He  had  held  the 
sceptre  twenty,  and  lived  sixty-three  years. 

During  his  reign,  an  inundation  took  place  in  Italy,  which  was 
deemed  the  most  surprising  and  destructive  that  had  ever  happened 
since  the  deluge.  All  the  rivers  overflowed,  and  spread  devastation 
throughout  the  whole  country.  The  plains  were  covered  with  such 
a  quantity  of  water,  as  to  present  the  spectacle  of  a  vast  sea,  upon 
whose  surface  the  wrecks  of  farms,  the  timber  of  houses,  the  dead 
bodies  of  men  and  animals,  were  floating  on  every  side,  as  in  a  gene- 
ral shipwreck.  The  Tiber  was  so  high,  that  it  filled  the  streets  of 
Rome,  destroyed  many  buildings,  and  left  uncovered  only  the  seven 
famous  hills  of  the  city,  which  then  appeared  as  so  many  islands. 
The  rapid  stream  carried  along  with  it  an  incredible  multitude  of  ser- 
pents, among  which  there  was  seen  one  of  an  enormous  size.  Being 
all  hurried  away  into  the  sea,  they  perished,  and  were  thrown  up  by 
the  waves  upon  the  beach.  In  fine,  this  deluge  was  accompanied 
by  frightful  storms,  thunder  and  lightnings,  and  followed  by  a  pesti- 
lence, which  swept  off  vast  numbers  of  inhabitants. 

In  the  midst  of  these  calamities,  St.  Gregory  the  Great  was,  not- 
withstanding his  modest  reluctance,  raised  to  the  chair  of  St.  Peter, 
which  he  occupied  fourteen  years  (590 — 604).  During  that  period 
he  constantly  acted  the  part  of  a  wise,  enlightened,  virtuous  and  holy 
pontiff,  as  all  contemporary  monuments  testify .f  This  great  pope 

*  Ps.  cxviii.  137. 

t  This,  being  a  notorious  fact  to  which  all  sorts  of  documents  bear 
ample  testimony,  plainly  demonstrates  how  unjust  and  absurd  are  the 
charges  of  bigoted  zeal,  ambition,  flattery  towards  princes,  etc.,  brought 
forward  by  Hume  and  other  infidels  against  St.  Gregory. 

Equally  unfounded  and  ridiculous  is  the  accusation  of  his  having  destroy 
ed  the  books  and  other  monuments  of  ancient  literature  in  Rome.  This 
work  of  destruction  is  not  only  well  accounted  for  by  the  multiplied  ravages 
of  the  barbarians,  but,  even  in  the  opinion  of  Bayle  and  Barbeyrac,  two  au- 
thors little  suspected  of  partiality  in  favor  of  the  popes,  not  one  single  good 
proof  can  be  adduced  that  St.  Gregory  ever  attempted  to  do  so;  except. per- 
haps with  regard  to  books  of  sorcery  and  judicious  astrology,  which  St.  Paul 
himself  judged  worthy  of  entire  destruction,  as  we  read  in  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles,  xix,  19.  AH  this  has  been  candidly  acknowledged  by  Roscoe,  in 


A.  P.  602-S10. 


PHOCAS.  161 


arrested  the  progress  of  the  plague  by  his  prayers ;  instructed  empe- 
rors, and  at  the  same  time  inculcated  the  obligation  of  true  obedience 
in  their  regard:  consoled  and  strengthened  Africa;  confirmed  in  the 
true  faith  the  Visigoths  of  Spain,  lately  converted  from  Arianism 
with  their  king  Recared;  sent  to  England  the  glad  tidings  of  the  gos- 
pel; reformed  discipline  in  France;  subdued  the  fierce  temper  of  the 
Lombards;  saved  Rome  and  Italy,  which  the  emperors  were  unable 
to  assist;  checked  the  growing  pride  of  the  patriarchs  of  Constanti- 
nople; enlightened  the  whole  Church  by  his  doctrine;  governed  the 
East  and  West  with  equal  vigor  and  humility,  and  afforded  to  the 
world  a  perfect  model  of  ecclesiastical  government. 


PHOCAS.— A.  D.  602—610. 

MAURITIUS  and  his  guiltless  offspring  being  inhumanly  cut  off, 
Phocas,  the  leader  of  the  rebellion,  the  personification  of  intemper- 
ance and  cruelty,  appeared  in  secure  possesion  of  the  supreme  power 
in  Constantinople.  But  Chosroes,  the  politic  king  of  Persia,  with 
sentiments  of  seeming  indignation  at  the  murder  of  his  kind  bene- 
factor and  ally,  loudly  exclaimed  against  the  assassin  on  the  throne, 
and  threatened  revenge.  A  still  stronger  motive,  his  own  interest, 
induced  him  to  declare  war  against  the  tyrant  Phocas.  With  nu- 
merous troops,  he  passed  the  Roman  boundary,  and,  meeting  with 
no  resistance,  quickly  overran  Mesopotamia  and  Syria.  Phocas.  who 
had  renounced  the  profession  of  a  soldier,  without  assuming  the 
character  of  a  prince,  remained  inactive,  and  beheld  with  indifference 
the  ravages  of  his  dominions.  He  suffered  Chosroes  to  gratify  his 
revenge  and  ambition  without  a  check,  and  exclusively  employed 
himself  in  shedding  the  blood  of  the  worthiest  men  of  the  state,  and 
gratifying  his  unruly  passions.  His  own  relatives  and  the  senate 
of  Constantinople,  seeing  nothing  done  for  the  preservation  of  the 
empire,  secretly  requested  Heraclius,  the  governor  of  Africa,  to  come 
to  their  assistance,  assuring  him  that  the  purple  would  be  the  reward 
of  his  services. 

Age  had  extinguished  the  last  spark  of  ambition  in  the  breast  of 
Heraclius;  but  he  took  all  proper  means  to  secure  the  crown  for  his 
son.  The  young  Heraclius  boldly  embarked  in  the  hazardous  en- 
terprise, put  a  select  body  of  troops  on  board  the  vessels  that  were 

his  History  of  Leo  lit?  Tenth,  vol.  r,  cli.  \.  p.  53,  where  ho  praises  "  the  benefi- 
cence, candor  and  pastoral  attention  of  Gregory  I, — unjustly  charged,"  he 
sclds,  "with  being  the  adversary  of  liberal  studies." 
14* 


162  MODERN    HISTORY.  Part.U, 

ready  for  sea,  set  sail,  and  nearly  reached  Constantinople,  before 
Phocas  had  the  least  suspicion  of  his  rival's  approach.  After  a  sharp 
contest  at  sea,  Heraclius  forced  the  entrance  of  the  harbor.  In  the 
meantime,  the  tyrant  destitute  of  friends,  was  seized  by  a  private 
enemy,  and  conveyed  on  board  the  galley  of  the  conqueror,  who  first 
reproached  him  for  his  atrocious  crimes,  then  ordered  his  head  to  be 
struck  off  and  his  body  to  be  burned.  Heraclius  was  immediately 
proclaimed  emperor  (A.  D.  610). 


HERACLIUS.— A.  D.  610—628. 

Br  this  time,  the  empire  was  in  a  most  deplorable  condition.  On 
one  hand,  the  public  treasury  was  drained;  there  were  hardly  any 
troops  to  defend  the  frontiers,  and  not  one  good  general  at  their  head, 
the  ablest  officers  having  either  fallen  in  battle  or  perished  by  the 
sword  of  the  tyrant.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Avari  were  recommenc- 
ing their  inroads  in  the  West,  and  the  Persians  continuing  the  work  of 
depredation  throughout  the  whole  East.  The  latter,  in  four  success- 
ful campaigns  (Gil — 615),  subdued  Mesopotamia,  Cappadocia,  Sy- 
ri;i  :uul  Palestine;  plundered  the  cities  of  Edessa,  Cacsarea,  Antioch, 
Damascus,  Jerusalem,  etc.,  and  carrying  off  innumerable  captives, 
together  with  an  immense  booty,  left  those  unfortunate  regions  co- 
vered with  blood,  ruins  and  ashes. 

In  pursuit  of  new  victories,  the  Persians  then  marched  into  Egypt, 
took  the  wealthy  city  of  Alexandria,  and  desolated  the  whole  coun- 
try around;  while  another  army  advanced  through  Pontus  and  Asia 
Minor  as  far  as  the  Straits  of  Constantinople.  Unprepared,  and  un- 
able to  resist  so  powerful  a  force,  Heraclius  begged  peace  of  Chos- 
roes  with  suppliant  intreaties.  and  even  on  the  humiliating  terms  of 
purchasing  it  by  an  annual  tribute.  The  haughty  monarch  rejected 
the  proposal  with  scorn.  Putting  the  ambassadors  in  chains,  he 
swore  that  he  would  spare  neither  the  emperor  nor  his  subjects,  un- 
less they  would  abjure  their  crucified  God,  and,  like  the  Persians, 
adopt  the  worship  of  the  sun. 

In  this  desperate  state  of  affairs,  Heraclius  thought  of  abandoning 
Constantinople  and  transferring  to  Carthage  the  seat  of  the  empire. 
Rising  however  from  that  despondency  and  lethargy  in  which  he 
seemed  to  be  plunged,  he  took  at  length  the  generous  determination 
of  putting  himself  at  the  head  of  his  shattered  troops,  and  to  run 
with  thorn  all  the  hazards  of  so  perilous  a  war.  Being  once  roused 
to  action,  nothing  appeared  in  him  but  heroism.  He  spent  one  year 
in  preparing  his  soldiers,  and  inspiring  them  with  his  own  ardor  arrl 


A.  D.  610—628. 


HERACLIUS.  163 


intrepidity;  his  design  being,  from  the  very  first  step,  to  remove  the 
seat  of  war  into  Persia,  and  thereby  oblige  the  infidels  to  return  home 
for  the  defence  of  their  country.  Not  to  leave  any  enemies  behind, 
he  concluded  a  truce  with  the  Avari,  who  had  lately  attacked  him 
on  the  side  of  Thrace;  and  in  the  year  622,  the  twelfth  of  his  reign, 
began  his  march  towards  Persia,  immediately  after  Easter. 

Before  the  expiration  of  the  same  year,  Heraclius  began  to  reap 
the  fruit  of  his  efforts,  by  defeating  the  Persians  in  Armenia.  This 
first  success  turned  for  ever  the  scale  of  fortune :  the  Romans,  so 
much  dispirited  before,  but  now  under  the  conduct  of  a  magnanimous 
prince,  and  animated  by  the  example  of  his  heroic  valor,  fearlessly 
entered  the  hostile  territory,  overthrowing,  as  they  advanced,  what- 
ever dared  oppose  their  progress.  Chosroes  beheld,  with  impotent 
rage,  all  his  armies  conquered,  his  dominions  laid  waste,  his  cities 
and  castles  taken  by  storm,  and  himself  compelled  to  fly  for  safety  to 
more  distant  quarters.  In  the  summer  of  623,  Heraclius  took  the 
important  city  of  Gansac  or  Tauris,  and  consigned  a  great  part  of  it 
to  the  flames,  especially  a  famous  temple  dedicated  to  heathen  wor- 
ship, and  the  palace  of  Chosroes,  in  which  there  was  a  rich  statue 
of  this  proud  monarch,  under  a  dome  which  represented  the  heavens 
with  the  sun,  moon  and  stars,  and  round  about  it  angels  holding 
sceptres  in  their  hands  in  honor  of  Chosroes,  with  machinery  in- 
tended to  produce  effects  resembling  storms  and  thunder.  Leading 
[jack  his  army  to  take  winter  quarters  in  Albania,  near  the  Caspian 
sea,  the  emperor  was  moved  with  compassion  towards  fifty  thousand 
Persian  captives  whom  he  had  brought  with  him,  and  dismissed  them 
all,  after  having  supplied  them  with  the  necessaries  of  life.  This 
act  of  humanity  so  touched  their  hearts,  as  to  make  them  pray  with 
tears  for  his  further  success,  and  express  their  ardent  desire  that  he 
might  deliver  Persia  from  a  tyrant  who,  by  his  exactions  and  cruelty, 
was  the  destroyer  of  mankind. 

The  campaigns  of  Heraclius  in  624  and  625,  were  equally  suc- 
cessful. He  fought  the  numerous  troops  of  the  Persians  in  five  or 
six  battles,  and  was  as  many  times  victorious.  In  626,  Sarbar,  one 
of  the  Persian  generals,  arrived  with  a  powerful  army  before  Chalce- 
don  on  the  Asiatic  bank  of  the  Bosphorus,  and  was  seconded  by  the 
perfidious  Avari,  who,  having  broken  the  truce,  attacked  Constanti- 
nople on  the  European  side;  but  they  were  repulsed  both  by  land 
and  sea,  and  Sarbar  was  likewise  foiled  in  his  attempts  against  Chal- 
cedon. 

On  the  12th  of  December,  627,  Heraclius,  almost  without  any  loss 
on  his  side,  gave  the  Persians  an  entire  overthrow  near  the  ruins  of 
the  ancient  city  of  Ninivis.  Razaies,  their  general,  was  found  among 
the  slain,  with  his  shield  and  cuirass  of  solid  golti;  and  with  him  fell 


164  MODERN    HISTORY.  rartm. 

nearly  all  the  officers  and  the  greater  part  of  the  Persian  army.  The 
haughty  Chosroes  was  now  driven  from  town  to  town,  and  yet  con- 
tinued obstinately  deaf  to  all  proposals  of  peace.  This  obstinacy  so 
exasperated  his  subjects  against  him,  that  even  his  nobles  and  gene- 
rals revolted,  with  Siroes,  his  eldest  son ;  and,  as  the  old  king  had 
just  declared  Medarses,  another  of  his  sons,  his  successor,  Siroes 
seized  on  his  father,  bound  him  in  chains,  and  threw  him  into  a  dun- 
geon. There  he  was  loaded  with  insults,  allowed  only  a  small 
quantity  of  bread  and  water  for  his  sustenance,  frequently  shot  at, 
and  wounded  with  arrows,  until  he  expired,  on  the  fifth  day  of  his 
confinement  (A.  p.  628). 

Thus,  through  a  just  judgment  of  God,  Chosroes  II  perished  by 
the  hands  of  an  unnatural  son,  after  having  himself  obtained  the  throne 
by  spilling  the  blood  of  his  father  Hormisdas,  and  filled  not  only  his 
own  kingdom,  but  all  the  East,  with  carnage  and  desolation,  during 
a  reign  of  thirty-five  years.  Siroes  immediately  entered  upon  a  treaty 
of  peace  with  Heraclius,  restored  the  provinces  which  the  empire  had 
lost,  and  released  all  the  Roman  prisoners.  Another  effect  of  this 
treaty  was  the  restitution  of  the  Holy  Cross,  which  had  been  carried 
away  by  the  Persians  fourteen  years  before,  and  which,  being  now 
recovered  from  their  hands,  was  conveyed  back  with  great  solemnity 
to  Jerusalem. 

The  emperor  then  returned  in  triumph  to  Constantinople,  and 
made  his  entry  into  that  capital  in  a  chariot  drawn  by  four  elephants, 
amidst  the  shouts  of  multitudes.  He  afterwards  applied  himself  to 
repair  in  the  several  provinces,  the  evils  caused  by  so  disastrous  a 
war;  Persia,  in  the  meantime,  remaining  a  prey  to  an  almost  uninter- 
rupted succession  of  bloody  revolutions,  which  followed  the  hasty 
death  of  Siroes.  Upon  the  whole,  both  nations  were  exceedingly 
weakened,  and  shortly  after  found  themselves  unable  to  resist  with 
success  a  common  and  most  formidable  enemy,  who,  issuing  forth 
from  the  deserts  of  Arabia,  was  preparing  at  this  very  time  to  impose 
upon  the  whole  East  his  yoke,  his  laws,  and  his  new  religion. 


RISE  OF  MAHOMETANISM.— A.  D.  622—632. 

THE  author  of  this  amazing  revolution  was  Mahomet,  or  Moha- 
mpd,  a  descendant  through  Ismael,  of  the  great  Patriarch  Abraham. 
This  famous  impostor  is  believed  to  have  been  born  in  the  year  570,. 
at  Mecca,  a  town  of  Arabia.  The  first  part  of  his  life  he  spent  in 
obscure  employments,  already  cherishing  however  that  unbounded 
ambition  which  was  to  burst  with  so  much  violence  and  to  produce 


RISE    OF    MAHOMETANISM.  165 

such  extensive  effects.  At  the  age  of  forty,  he  assumed  the  quality 
of  a  prophet ;  and  supposing,  contrary  to  the  divine  promises,  that 
the  true  worship  of  God  existed  no  longer  upon  earth,  boldly  main- 
tained that  he  was  commissioned  by  heaven  to  restore  the  religion 
of  Abraham,  Moses  and  Jesus  Christ,  to  its  primitive  purity,  dread- 
fully disfigured,  he  said,  by  Christians,  Jews  and  Idolaters. 

Upon  this  foundation,  Mahomet  built  his  religious  system,  which 
is  a  monstrous  compound  of  Judaism,  Christianity,  old  heresies,  and 
his  own  fancies;  on  one  side,  discarding  all  the  mysteries  of  religion, 
on  the  other,  continually  inculcating  that  "  God  is  God,  and  Maho- 
met is  his  prophet."  Being  subject  to  fits  of  epilepsy,  he  attributed 
them  to  trie  visits  of  the  Archangel  Gabriel,  by  whom  he  pretended 
he  was  taught,  but  whose  presence  he  could  not  bear  without  trances 
and  convulsions.  As  he  knew  neither  how  to  read  or  write,  it  was 
only  with  the  assistance  of  a  Jewish  Rabbin  and  of  a  Nestorian  monk, 
that  he  compiled  his  Koran,  or  book  of  books,  as  he  called  it,  and 
which,  in  reality,  is  nothing  else  than  a  most  strange  medley  of  some 
beautiful  sentences  and  maxims  taken  from  Holy  Writ,  and  of  non- 
sense, absurdities  and  ideas  the  most  extravagant,  without  design  or 
connexion,  though  expressed  in  a  lofty  and  an  animated  style. 

It  was  a  very  favorable  circumstance  for  the  design  of  Mahomet, 
that  he  preached  his  doctrine  first  among  Arabs  and  Saracens,  the 
most  ignorant  people  perhaps  then  in  the  world.  Still,  instead  of 
making  much  progress  in  the  beginning,  it  rather  met  with  powerful 
opposition  at  Mecca ;  so  far,  that  the  pretended  prophet,  seeing  the 
danger  which  threatened  his  life,  was  obliged  to  depart  from  that  town. 
This  event  happened  in  the  year  622,  and  is  famous  among  the  Ma- 
hometans, who  trace  back  to  it  the  beginning  of  their  era,  under  the 
name  of  hegira,  or  flight. 

Mahomet  retired  to  Medina  or  Yatreb,  another  Arabian  city,  where 
he  was  received  with  great  honors.  He  obtained  there  numerous 
proselytes,  to  whom  he  declared  that  he  intended  to  establish  his  reli- 
gion^not  by  the  power  of  miracles,  as  the  ancient  prophets  had  done, 
but  by  the  force  and  terror  of  arms.*  To  this  first  means  of  enforcing 
conviction,  he  added  another  equally  successful  with  the  generality 
of  men,  the  enticement  of  sensual  pleasures;  he  himself  setting  the 
example  of  debauchery,  as  well  as  of  ambition,  enthusiasm  and  des- 
perate courage.  Having  assembled  a  little  army,  chiefly  consisting 
of  thieves  and  fugitive  slaves,  he  at  first  attacked  the  caravans  that 
went  through  Arabia  for  the  purpose  of  trade,  and  meeting  with 
great  success,  he  enriched  his  soldiers  and  enlarged  his  projects.  He 
took  the  city  of  Mecca  from  which  he  had  been  compelled  to  flee, 

*  See  Note  E. 


166  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Fart  in. 


and  thence  carried  the  sword  of  destruction  from  one  tribe  to  another, 
forcing  all  to  embrace  his  religion,  or  pay  him  an  annual  tribute. 
Before  his  death  (632),  nearly  the  whole  of  Arabia  was  already  sub- 
jugated. 

Such  was  the  first  result  of  the  exertions  of  Mahomet;  and,  since 
he  had  personally  set  the  example  to  an  enthusiastic  people,  it  is 
chiefly  to  him,  as  to  its  first  cause,  that  we  should  refer  the  long 
course  of  victories  gained,  and  of  conquests  made  by  his  successors. 
It  was  he  who  changed  some  miserable  tribes,  until  then  confined  to 
the  deserts  of  Arabia,  into  armies  of  undaunted  warriors,  for  whom 
the  invasion  of  the  whole  world  seemed  to  be  too  little.  Of  what 
efforts  were  not  those  men  capable,  whose  minds  he  had  impressed 
with  the  dogma  of  absolute  predestination,  whose  souls  he  had  in 
flamed  with  all  the  ardor  of  religious  fanaticism,  and  whom,  in  fine, 
he  had  taught  to  look  upon  themselves  as  strictly  bound  and  most 
happy  either  to  conquer  or  to  die  on  the  field  of  battle  for  the  propaga- 
tion of  their  sect! 

The  inexorable  severity  of  Mahomet  towards  the  vanquished,  was 
another  cause  of  the  rapidity  of  his  success,  the  terror  which  he 
spread  abroad,  frequently  disarming  those  whom  he  threatened  with 
war.  His  practice  in  declaring  it  was,  to  propose  the  choice  of  one 
of  three  conditions,  viz.,  the  adoption  of  his  religious  system,  or  the 
payment  of  a  tribute,  or  an  appeal  to  the  sword.  They  who  agreed 
to  the  first,  not  only  preserved  their  lives  and  property,  but  were  even 
made  partakers  of  all  the  privileges  of  Mussulmans.  Those  who 
consented  to  pay  a  tribute,  were  allowed  to  profess  their  own  reli- 
gion, provided  it  was  not  gross  idolatry.  If  they  had  courage  to 
fight,  no  quarter  was  granted  to  them;  only  the  women,  old  people 
and  children  were  spared,  and  reduced  to  slavery.  This  terrible 
mode  of  proceeding  continued  for  many  years,  and  was  abandoned 
only  when  the  Mahometan  power,  being  solidly  established,  had 
nothing  to  fear  from  its  enemies. 

The  followers  of  Mahomet  are  called  Mahometans,  from  his  own 
name ; — Mussulmans  or  Moslems,  from  the  word  Islam,  which  means 
submission  to  God  and  to  his  prophet,  and  by  which  they  desig- 
nate their  religion  ; — sometimes  Arabs,  from  their  parent  country ; — 
and  more  frequently  Saracens,  from  one  of  the  principal  tribes  that 
first  embraced  Mahometanism.  As  to  the  chiefs  of  this  new  religion 
and  empire,  they  took  the  name  of  Caliphs,  or  vicars  of  the  prophet 
and  sometimes  also,  the  title  of  Emir  al  mottmentn  or  Miranwliji, 
which  signifies  prince,  or  commander  of  the  faithful. 


A.  ».  83^-639.        SARACENS    IN    SYRIA,   ETC.  167 


PROGRESS  OF  MAHOMETANISM 


CONQUESTS  OF  THE  SARACENS  IN  SYRIA,  PALESTINE  AND  MESOPOTAMIA. 
A.   D.   632— 639. 


MAHOMET  having  left  no  male  issue,  it  was  natural  to  expect  that 
the  titles  and  power  he  had  enjoyed,  should  be  transferred  to  Ali, 
his  cousin,  son-in-law,  and  designated  heir.  Still  the  suffrages  of  the 
nation  were  for  Abu-Beker,  Mahomet's  father-in-law,  a  man  of  great 
repute  among  the  Arabs,  and  to  whom,  more  than  any  one  else,  Is- 
lamism  was  indebted  for  the  popularity  it  had  acquired.  Moreover 
he  was  powerfully  supported  by  the  most  influential  chieftains  of  the 
Mussulmans,  Omar  and  Othman,  who  preferred  to  see  the  dignity 
of  caliph,  to  which  they  themselves  probably  aspired,  intrusted  to  a 
man  sixty  years  old,  the  age  of  Abu-Beker,  rather  than  to  Ali,  a 
young  man,  who,  having,  acccording  to  the  ordinary  course  of  na* 
ture,  the  prospect  of  a  long  life,  would  likely  prevent  them  from  ever 
becoming  caliphs. 

Abu-Beker  therefore  was  elected,  and  immediately  took  the  census 
of  his  subjects.  Having  found  one  hundred  and  twenty  four  thou- 
sand Mussulmans,  he  did  not  doubt  but  that  he  might,  with  these 
forces,  undertake  and  execute  great  projects.  After  quelling  some  se- 
ditions among  the  Arabs,  and  driving  the  Persians  from  the  ancient 
Chaldea,  he  raised  three  armies  for  the  invasion  of  Syria,  under  the 
command  of  three  valiant  chieftains,  Kaled,  Abu-Obeyda  and  Am- 
rou.  Their  first  attack  was  directed  against  the  frontier  towns,  Bos- 
tra,  Palmyra,  and  some  others  which  were  easily  conquered.  Kaled, 
who  was  the  commander  in  chief,  then  went,  at  the  head  of  fifty 
thousand  men,  to  lay  siege  to  the  important  city  of  Damascite.  Nei- 
ther the  courage  of  the  citizens  and  garrison,  nor  the  exertions  of  the 
trodps  sent  to  their  assistance,  could  save  the  town  from  the  hands 
of  the  infidels.  It  was  taken  by  them  at  the  end  of  six  months,  and 
most  of  its  brave  inhabitants  were  inhumanly  slaughtered,  by  the  or- 
der of  Kaled.  This  happened  on  the  30th  of  August  (634),  and  was 
the  last  event  of  the  reign  of  Abu-Beker,  who  died  on  that  very  day, 
at  the  age  of  nearly  sixty-three  years,  after  having  appointed  Omar 
his  successor. 

The  death  of  one  caliph  and  the  accession  of  another  made  no  al- 
teration in  the  plans,  and  put  no  hindrance  to  the  progress  of  the 
Saracens.  The  only  change  that  arose  was,  that  Abu-Obeyda  re- 
ceived the  chief  command  of  their  troops,  in  the  place  of  Kaled  whose 
temper  was  too  violent  and  sanguinary.  This  terrible,  but  truly  mag- 


168  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Pan  III. 


nanimous  warrior,  descended  without  a  murmur  to  an  inferior  rank, 
and  declared  that  this  circumstance  would  by  no  means  prevent  him 
from  making  the  utmost  exertions  for  the  public  welfare.  Such  was 
the  heroic  spirit  of  the  Arabs  of  that  period:  religious  enthusiasm 
raised  their  minds  above  the  ordinary  feelings  of  nature,  and  kept 
them  ever  ready  to  sacrifice  their  private  interests  and  personal  views 
on  the  altar  of  patriotism.  However,  as  Kaled  possessed  surprising 
activity  and  great  talents  for  war,  he  continued,  under  Abu-Obeyda, 
to  direct  the  operations  of  the  army,  and  this  good  understanding  of 
the  two  generals  greatly  facilitated  their  success. 

In  the  meantime,  the  Greeks  and  the  Syrians,  roused  by  their  ex- 
treme danger,  opposed  in  different  parts  of  the  invaded  country,  a 
formidable  resistance  which  cost  the  lives  of  many  Saracens,  particu- 
larly in  the  neighborhood  of  fortified  places  whose  garrisons  frequently 
made  vigorous  and  successful  sallies.  Horaclius  also  was  exerting 
himself  in  taking  measures  to  preserve  Syria.  Having  raised  a  nu- 
merous army,  he  placed  it  under  the  command  of  a  general  named 
Manuel,  who  immediately  went  in  search  of  the  Saracens.  It  did  not 
take  him  long  to  find  them;  at  the  news  of  his  approach,Obeyda  and 
Kaled  had  assembled  their  forces,  and  stationed  them  on  the  banks 
of  a  river  near  the  city  of  Yarmouth  :  on  that  spot  the  furious  and 
bloody  engagement  took  place,  that  almost  annihilated  the  Roman 
power  in  those  provinces.  During  the  battle,  which  lasted  several 
days,  women  seemed  to  vie  with  men  for  the  prize  of  courage.  On 
the  first  day, -the  Greeks  animated  equally  by  despair  and  by  the  su- 
periority of  their  numbers,  three  times  put  the  Saracens  to  flight, 
and  three  times  the  fugitives  returned  to  the  field,  spurred  on  by  the 
railleries  of  their  wives,  who  were  placed  at  the  rear  with  the  great 
standard  of  Mahomet.  Not  less  sharp  and  obstinate  was  the  fight  of 
the  following  day.  At  last  the  Christians  being  not  only  harassed, 
but  also  betrayed,  were  entirely  defeated,  and  lost  more  than  a  hun- 
dred thousand  men,  manfof  whom  fell  by  the  exterminating  sword 
of  the  Arabs;  some  perished  in  the  river;  and  others  were  taken 
prisoners. 

The  conquerors  seized  the  occasion  of  improving  their  victory,  by 
the  pursuit  of  the  vanquished,  and  by  the  capture  of  those  places  in 
Syria  and  Palestine,  that  were  yet  subjected  to  the  empire.  Je- 
rusalem, in  particular,  was  the  grand  object  of  their  views.  Mahomet 
had  always  professed  a  peculiar  veneration  for  that  holy  city,  and  had 
transmitted  that  veneration  to  his  followers,  who  ardently  desired  to 
have  the  town  in  their  possession.  Accordingly,  only  one  month 
after  the  battle  of  Yarmouth,  Omar  sent  to  his  generals  an  order  to 
march  into  Palestine  and  attack  Jerusalem.  The  city,  though  desti- 
tute of  all  hope  of  assistance  from  ITeracliu.s,  resisted  during  several 


.D.  6»-644.  SARACENS    IN    EGYPT.  169 

months  all  the  efforts  of  the  enemy,  but  was  in  the  end  compelled  to 
surrender.  The  caliph  went  himself  from  Arabia  to  treat  of  the 
capitulation,  granted  mild  conditions  to  the  inhabitants,  and  solemnly 
took  possession  of  the  town,  in  May,  (A.  D.  637).  Aleppo,  Antioch, 
Tyre,  Caesarea,  etc.  fell  also  about  the  same  time  under  the  power 
of  the  victorious  Arabs,  and  the  conquest  of  Syria  and  Palestine  was 
completed  by  them  in  the  space  of  six  years. 

The  conquest  of  Mesopotamia  cost  them  still  less  time  and  fatigue. 
One  year  was  sufficient  to  subdue  that  country,  for  which  the  Ro- 
mans and  Persians  had  fought  during  many  centuries.  Edessa, 
Nisibis,  and  other  towns,  so  famous  in  antiquity  for  the  glory  of  their 
arms,  as  well  as  for  the  flourishing  state  of  Christianity  within  their 
walls,  scarcely  dared  make  any  resistance,  and  submitted  to  the  Ma- 
hometan yoke. 

All  this  happened  during  the  reign  of  Heraclius,  who  was  now 
disgracing  by  indolence  the  glory  which  he  had  formerly  acquired, 
and  who  seemed  to  have  lived,  merely  to  behold  the  loss  of  his  finest 
provinces.  He  died  in  the  year  641,  the  thirty-first  of  his  reign,  and 
sixty-seventh  of  his  age,  leaving  the  Greek  empire  in  a  condition 
nearly  as  deplorable  as  that  from  which  he  had  rescued  it  some  years 
before.  After  him,  Constantine  Heraclius  and  Heracleonas  his  sons, 
occupied  the  throne  ten  months  only,  and  Constant  II,  his  grand-son, 
who  occupied  it  twenty-seven  years,  did  little  else  than  persecute  the 
Church  and  tyrannize  over  his  subjects. 


CONQUESTS  OF  THE  SARACENS  IN  EGYPT.— A.  r.  639—644. 

SOVEREIGNS  of  this  description  were  certainly  incapable  of  checking 
the  progress  of  the  Saracens,  whose  armies  had  already  penetrated 
into  Egypt.  The  leader  of  their  forces  i*  that  envied  country,  was 
Amrou,  a  brave  general,  who  has  been  already  mentioned.  Uniting 
wisdom  and  prudence  with  intrepidity,  he  first  took  different  towns 
either  by  capitulation  or  surprise,  and  at  length  appeared  in  sight  of 
the  populous  city  of  Alexandria. 

Like  other  great  generals,  Amrou  trusted  to  no  one  but  himself  for 
the  precautions  and  measures  to  be  taken  in  war.  In  order  then  to 
become  well  acquainted  with  the  position  and  strength  of  the  town, 
he  himself  went  to  examine  its  outworks,  accompanied  only  by  a 
slave  called  Verdan,  and  Mulisma,  one  of  his  chief  officers.  Having 
approached  too  near  the  wall,  they  were  apprehended,  and  brought 
before  the  governor  of  the  place,  who  asked  them  upon  what  grounds 
the  Mahometans  had  come  to  attack  Alexandria.  Amrou  replied 
15 


170  MODERN  HISTORY.  PaftII1 

that  their  view  was,  either  to  make  the  Greeks  embrace  the  religion 
of  Mahomet,  or  compel  them,  sword  in  hand,  to  pay  an  annual 
tribute  to  the  caliph. 

So  bold  an  answer  led  the  governor  to  believe  that  the  man  who 
gave  it,  was  certainly  the  general  of  the  Saracen  troops :  "  This  is 
Amrou  himself,"  said  he  to  his  officers;  "let  him  be  beheaded." 
Verdan,  who  understood  Greek,  seeing  the  imminent  danger  of  his 
master,  turned  to  him, 'and  giving  him  a  violent  blow,  said  in  an 
angry  tone:  "  Why  do  you,  who  are  the  least  of  the  Mussulmans, 
take  upon  yourself  to  answer?  Let  your  superiors  speak."  Then 
Mulisma,  raising  his  voice,  said  that  the  general  of  the  Mahometans, 
desirous  to  treat  with  the  governor,  had  sent  them  to  demand  an  in- 
terview ;  and,  if  the  Greeks  were  disposed  to  offer  or  accept  reasona- 
ble conditions,  peace  would  be  soon  concluded. 

This  stratagem  had  the  desired  effect.  The  governor,  believing 
now  that  he  had  been  mistaken  about  these  men,  dismissed  them 
unmolested;  but,  instead  of  the  proposed  interview,  Amrou,  on  the 
following  day,  showed  himself  with  his  whole  army  near  the  walls 
of  Alexandria,  and  immediately  commenced  the  siege  (A.  D  640). 

It  lasted  fourteen  months,  during  which  the  Saracens  lost  twenty- 
three  thousand  men,  who  were  siain  either  in  different  assaults,  or  in 
the  frequent  sallies  made  by  the  garrison.  At  last,  they  took  the  city 
by  storm,  and  putting  to  the  sword  many  of  its  brave  defenders, 
drove  the  others  into  the  country,  whither  they  were  pursued  by 
Amrou.  Still,  many  of  them  had  time  to  embark  in  the  vessels 
which  they  found  in  the  harbor ;  they  soon  returned,  re-entered  the 
city,  and  slew  all  the  Saracens  whom  Amrou  had  left  there.  At  this 
melancholy  news,  he  hastened  back  with  his  troops,  and  finding  the 
Greeks  already  in  possession  of  the  fortress,  attacked  them  without 
delay,  and,  notwithstanding  their  vigorous  resistance,  drove  them  from 
this  their  last  retreat.  Those  who  escaped  the  destructive  sword  of 
the  conquerors,  re-embarited  with  precipitancy,  .and  abandoned  to 
the  Saracens  this  powerful  city,  which  had  been  so  long  the  great 
store-house,  as  it  were,  of  Rome  and  Constantinople,  the  honor  of 
the  empire,  and  the  centre  of  commerce  in  the  East.  It  lost  then 
these  noble  prerogatives,  and  the  whole  province  passed  with  it  under 
the  Mussulman  sway. 

At  this  time  also,  literature  suffered  an  irreparable  loss  by  the  con- 
flagration of  the  Alexandrian  library,  which  contained  upwards  of v 
five  hundred  thousand  volumes.  Amrou  sent  deputies  to  consult 
the  Caliph,  and  ask  him  what  was  to  be  done  with  so  many 
books ;  Omar  answered  that,  being  useless  if  they  agreed  with  the 
Koran,  and  dangerous  if  they  differed  from  it,  in  either  case  they 
were  to  be  destroyed.  The  Mussulman  general,  who  was  not  less 


A.  D.  632-656.      SARACENS    IN    PERSIA,    ETC.  171 

moderate  after  victory  fhan  intrepid  in  battle,  reluctantly,  but  punc- 
tually, obeyed  the  order :  the  books  were  distributed  throughout  the 
various  quarters  of  the  city,  and  served,  it  is  said,  to  warm  the 
public  baths  during  six  months. 

No  sooner  was  Egypt  entirely  subdued,  than  Amrou,  proceeding 
farther  west,  carried  his  victorious  arms  into  Lybia,  and  would  have 
made  still  greater  progress,  had  not  the  death  of  Omar  occasioned  his 
return.  This  caliph  was  murdered  at  Medina,  in  644,  by  a  Persian 
slave,  to  whose  complaints  against  his  master  he  had  refused  to  listen. 
Othman,  another  celebrated  personage  among  the  Arabs,  was  imme- 
diately chosen  to  succeed  him  ;  still,  the  death  of  Omar  created  deep 
affliction  in  the  heart  of  every  true  Mussulman.  Of  all  the  caliphs, 
he  is,  to  this  day,  the  most  revered  among  the  Mahometans,  at  least 
those  called  Sunnites  (see  p.  174),  as  having  contributed  most  to  the 
increase  of  their  civil  and  religious  power.  In  fact,  according  to  an 
ancient  historian,  he  conquered,  within  the  space  of  ten  years  and  a 
half,  thirty-six  thousand  towns  or  fortresses.  Syria,  Mesopotamia, 
nearly  all  Persia,  Egypt  and  Lybia,  were  subdued  by  his  generals  ; 
and,  what  is  still  more  surprising,  these  conquests  were  not  less  se- 
cure and  permanent,  than  they  had  been  rapid  and  extensive,  owing 
to  the  wisdom  and  firmness  with  which  the  caliph  governed — his 
staff,  to  use  the  expression  of  the  Arabs,  being  more  respected  than 
the  sword  of  his  successors. 

This  wonderful  success  of  Omar's  administration  produced  no 
change  in  his  morals,  no  alteration  'in  his  manner  of  life,  which  was 
quite  plain  and  even  austere.  Careless  about  his  own  ease,  he  every 
Friday  distributed  the  money  of  the  treasury  to  the  poor,  according 
to  the  wants  of  every  individual.  Historians  highly  praise  also  his 
love  of  justice,  though  they  admit  that  he  sometimes  carried  it  to  an 
excess  bordering  on  cruelty,  and  that  he  was  not  always  faithful  to 
his  promises. 


CONQUESTS  OF  THE  SARACENS  IN  PERSIA,  RHODES  AND 
OTHER  COUNTRIES.— A.  D.  632—656. 


OTHMAN  completed  the  subjugation  of  Persia,  which  had  been 
commenced  under  Abu-Beker  and  vigorously  prosecuted  under 
Omar.  This  kingdom  was,  in  consequence  of  its  frequent  revolutions 
and  the  victories  of  Heraclius,  nearly  shorn  of  its  strength  ;  and  Isde- 
gerdes  III,  who,  in  632,  ascended  the  throne  at  the  age  of  fifteen  yeary, 
was  too  young  to  defend  it  with  success  against  the  attacks  of  the  Mus- 
sulmans. At  the  same  time  that  they  invaded  Syria,  thirty  thousand 


172  MODERN   HISTORY. 


Part  I  If, 


of  their  warriors  carried  the  sword  of  destruction  to  the  banks  of  the 
Euphrates  and  Tigris.  They  were  commanded,  in  this  first  period 
of  their  progress,  by  Saad,  one  of  the  heroes  of  the  Saracens,  who 
achieved  in  Persia  exploits  equal  to  those  of  Kaled  in  Syria,  and  o* 
Amrou  in  Egypt.  The  Persians,  on  their  side,  like  the  Syrians  and 
the  Greeks,  roused  themselves  to  a  new  exertion  of  that  courage 
which  they  had  so  frequently  displayed  in  former  and  better  times. 
They  made  incredible  efforts  to  avert  the  storm  and  secure  their  inde- 
pendence ;  nor  could  the  Saracens  truly  look  upon  themselves  as  the 
conquerors  and  masters  of  Persia,  as  long  as  there  were  inhabitants 
to  defend  it  against  invasion. 

No  later  than  the  year  636,  a  great  battle  was  fought  near  the  town 
of  Cadesia  between  the  Mussulman  troops  commanded  by  Saad,  and 
an  army  of  Persians  amounting  to  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand 
men,  under  the  command  of  Rostan,  the  bravest  of  their  generals. 
This  battle,  which  is  as  famous  among  oriental  nations  as  that  of 
Arbela  between  Alexander  and  Darius  (B.  c.  331),  was  continued 
three  days,  with  the  utmost  fury  on  both  sides.  The  Saracens  lost 
nearly  eight  thousand,  and  the  Persians  upwards  of  sixty  thousand 
men ;  Isdegerdes  was  obliged  to  fly  to  the  remotest  parts  of  his  king- 
dom, where  he  hoped  he  would  be  better  able  to  muster  new  forces. 

The  Mussulmans,  before  pursuing  him,  marched  to  Ctesiphon,  or 
Modin,  the  capital  city  of  Persia,  and  took  it  at  the  first  onset.  They 
found  in  it  immense  treasures  and  effects  of  inestimable  value,  the 
pillage  of  which  enriched  them,  and,  by  a  necessary  consequence, 
made  them  lose  the  noble  simplicity  and  plainness  of  their  ancestors. 
Still,  their  warlike  and  enthusiastic  spirit  was  ever  the  same,  as 
clearly  appeared  when  Saad,  a  few  months  after  the  capture  of  Mo- 
din,  received  from  the  caliph  an  order  to  go  forward  in  pursuit  of 
Isdegerdes.  This  intrepid  general,  with  an  ardor  not  to  be  surpassed, 
led  his  troops  through  the  deserts  and  mountains  of  Persia,  from  one 
extremity  to  the  other  of  this  vast  empire.  Having  overtaken  the 
king  at  Gialola,  in  the  province  of  Korasan,  he  gained  over  him  a 
second  victory  as  bloody  and  decisive  as  that  of  Cadesia.  The  unfor- 
tunate monarch  was  driven  entirely  from  his  dominions,  and  forced* 
to  apply  for  refuge  and  assistance  to  the  petty  neighboring  tribes. 

A  third  battle  gave  the  deadly  blow  to  the  Persian  monarchy. 
Rostan,  summoning  all  who  could  bear  arms,  raised  another  very 
numerous  army,  with  which  he  determined  to  make  a  last  and  des- 
perate effort  for  the  support  of  this  tottering  empire,  Nooman,  at 
that  time  commander  of  the  Saracens,  in  the  place  of  Saad  who  was 
engaged  in  subduing  important  provinces,  did  not  avoid  the  battle. 
It  took  place  near  Nahavend,  and  was  for  a  long  time  disputed  with 
incredible  animosity  and  valor.  Nooman  perished  in  the  conflict. 


A.  D.  033-656.       SARACENS    IN    PERSIA,   ETC.  173 

and  the  Saracens  were  about  to  abandon  the  field,  when  Hodaifa,  a 
brave  officer,  revived  their  courage,  and  rushing  at  their  head  against 
the  enemy,  so  broke  his  ranks,  and  made  such  a  slaughter,  as  to 
gain  at  last  a  decided  'and  most  signal  advantage,  which  the  Arabs 
call  the  victory  of  victories. 

From  this  time  forward,  the  Persians  did  not  venture  to  appear 
any  more  in  the  open  field  ;  cities  every  where  opened  their  gates  to 
the  conquerors,  a  very  few  only  having  dared  to  make  some  show  of 
resistance.  It  was  in  vain  that  Isdergerdes  once  more  endeavored  to 
retrieve  his  losses ;  his  last  troops  were  easily  overthrown,  and  he 
himself,  being  again  obliged  to  fly,  was  put  to  death  by  discontented 
auxiliaries.  Thus  ended  the  second  Persian  empire  (A.  D.  651), 
after  having  lasted  four  hundred  and  twenty-five  years  from  its  res- 
toration in  226.  The  Arabian  power  was  now  fully  established  in 
that  kingdom,  and  the  surviving  population  adopted  the  religion  of 
Mahomet. 

About  the  same  time,  the  Saracens  made  other  conquests  in  Vari- 
ous countries,  but  neither  so  secure  nor  so  important.  The  reduc- 
tion of  the  island  of  Cyprus  was  but  transient,  it  being  shortly  afte-r 
reconquered  by  the  Christians.  Nearly  the  same  happened  to  Arme- 
nia ;  but  Nubia,  in  the  south  of  Egypt,  was  rendered  tributary,  and 
the  conquest  of  the  island  of  Rhodes  proved  more  lasting.  Moaviah, 
a  brave  and  skilful  general,  entirely  subdued  it  in  653.  The  famous 
Colossus,  or  brazen  statue  of  the  sun,  which  the  Rhodians  had 
erected  (B.  c.  about  300),  after  their  deliverance  from  a  powerful 
enemy  (Demetrius  Poliorcetes),  was  still  lying  on  the  ground.  It 
was  at  least  one  hundred  and  five  feet  high,  its  other  dimensions 
being  in  proportion;  each  finger  was  larger  than  a  man  of  ordinary 
size;  and  being  placed  at  the  entrance  of  the  harbor  upon  two  oppo- 
site rocks  which  served  as  pedestals,  ships  could  pass  without  diffi- 
culty between  the  feet  of  the  statue.  It  was  thrown  down  by  an 
earthquake,  after  having  stood  fifty-six  years;  and  it  remained  upon, 
the  shore  for  about  nine  centuries,  when  the  Saracens,  now  masters 
of  the  island,  sold  the  broken  parts  of  the  Colossus  to  a  Jewish 
merchant,  who  loaded  with  them  nine  hundred  camels:  this  sup- 
poses the  whole  weight  to  have  been  seven  hundred  and  twenty 
thousand  pounds. 


15 


174  MODERN    HISTORY.  Part  Ul 

DISSENSIONS  AMONG  THE  SARACENS.— A.  D.  656—668. 


THE  progress  of  the  Saracens  in  Asia  was  now  checked  for  a  time 
by  various  obstacles,  the  greatest  of  which  arose  from  among  them- 
selves. It  was  occasioned  by  the  death  of  Caliph  Othman,  who, 
having  provoked  general  discontent  by  the  singularity  of  his  deport- 
ment, and  his  partiality  for  his  relatives  upon  whom  he  blindly 
lavished  the  dignities  and  treasures  of  the  state,  fell  by  the  swords  of 
assassins  at  the  age  of  eighty- two  years  (A.  D.  656).  The  right  of 
succeeding  him  was  claimed  simultaneously  by  Ali,  the  son-in-law 
of  Mahomet,  and  by  Moaviah,  the  conqueror  of  Rhodes.  A  civil 
war  ensued,  which,  though  bloody,  left  the  question  undecided  5  till 
Ali,  being  murdered  in  661  by  a  certain  fanatic  of  his  own  party, 
and  his  son  Assan  dying  after  the  lapse  of  some  years,  Moaviah  re- 
mained sole  and  undisputed  master.  He  chose  Damascus  for  his 
residence,  and  was  the  head  of  the  Ommiade  dynasty,  which  reigned 
over  the  Saracens  ninety-two  years. 

But,  although  Moaviah  succeeded  in  uniting  under  his  sway  all 
the  parts  of  their  empire,  the  hatred  of  the  two  parties  did  not  abate : 
founded,  not  only  on  the  difference  of  political  pretensions,  but  also 
on  the  disagreement  of  religious  doctrines,  it  continued  to  subsist, 
and  has  even  continued  almost  to  this  day  the  cause  of  frequent  and 
bloody  wars  between  the  Persians  who  adhere  to  the  sect  of  Ali,  and 
the  Turks  who  are  followers  of  Omar  and  Moaviah.  The  preference 
given  to  Abu-Beker  over  Ali  (see  p.  167),  is  commonly  assigned  as 
the  origin  of  this  lasting  animosity.  According  to  the  Persians,  Ali 
was  the  lawful  successor  of  Mahomet,  and  the  three  first  caliphs 
were  mere  usurpers,  as  well  as  the  Ommiades,  who  reigned  after 
them  to  the  detriment  of  the  Fatimites,  or  offspring  of  AH  by  his 
wife  Fatime,  Mahomet's  daughter.  The  Turks,  on  the  contrary,  call 
themselves  Sunnites,  or  orthodox,  attached  to  the  traditions  of  their 
Mahometan  ancestors,  and  give  to  the  Persians  the  name  of  Shyites, 
that  is  to  say,  schismatics  and  sectarians. 


PROSPERITY  OF  THE  GREEK  EMPIRE   UNDER  CONSTAN- 
TINE-POGONATUS.— A.  D.  668—685 


ANOTHER  great  obstacle  with  which  the  Mussulmans  of  this  period 
met  in  their  career  of  invasion,  was  the  superior  ability  of  the  Greek 
emperor,  Constantine  IV,  or  Pogonatus.  No  sooner  had  his  father, 
Constant  II,  been  slain  by  his  own  servants  (A.  D.  CC8),  than  he 


A.  D.668-685.  GREEK    EMPIRE^    ETC.  175 

seized,  with  a  resolute  hand,  the  helm  of  the  state.  He  commenced 
his  reign  by  punishing  the  murderers  of  his  father,  and  bringing  to  a 
speedy  termination  some  dangerous  seditions.  Having  succeeded  in 
this,  he  found  a  still  better  opportunity  of  manifesting  the  energies 
of  his  soul,  in  the  defence  of  his  capital  city  against  the  attacks  of 
the  Saracens. 

During  seven  years  in  succession  (673-679),  the  numerous  armies 
of  Caliph  Moaviah  presented  themselves  before  the  walls  of  Con- 
stantinople, and  battered  them  with  all  kinds  of  military  engines; 
but  they  were  constantly  repelled,  and  finally  obliged  to  retreat. 
Their  failure  was  owing  to  their  want  of  prudence  and  experience 
with  regard  to  the  attack  of  fortified  places,  inasmuch  as  they  retired 
every  winter,  and  were  afterwards  obliged  to  recommence  the  siege 
as  if  nothing  had  hitherto  been  done;  and  also  to  the  unwearied 
courage  and  activity  which  the  emperor  and  his  troops  displayed  all 
that  time.  Among  the  various  means  which  they  took  to  baffle  the 
efforts  of  the  enemy,  none  was  of  greater  service  to  them  than  the 
Grecian  fire,  which  had  been  lately  invented  by  a  Syrian  named  Cal- 
linicus.  This  man,  having  come  from  Heliopolis  to  Constantinople, 
carried  thither  the  secret  of  that  famous  composition,  which  for  many 
centuries  rendered  innumerable  services  to  the  Greeks  in  their  diffe- 
rent wars.  It  was  used  for  the  first  time  during  this  siege,  and 
caused  dreadful  ravages  among  the  Saracens.  Burning  even  in 
water,  and  directing  its  blaze  downwards,  that  terrible  fire  consumed 
both  men  and  ships,  and  even  iron  and  stones,  before  it  could  be 
extinguished;  for  which  purpose  they  were  obliged  to  make  use  of 
sand  or  vinegar. 

The  Mussulmans,  unable  to  bear  up  against  this  mode  of  warfare, 
abandoned  their  undertaking,  after  it  had  already  cost  them  a  consi- 
derable part  of  their  fleet  and  army.  The  remainder  was  not  less 
unfortunate,  when  they  attempted  to  retreat.  All  the  vessels  were, 
in  consequence  of  a  furious  tempest,  driven  on  shore,  and  broken 
against  the  rocks  or  swallowed  up  by  the  waves;  while  the  land  sol- 
diers, worn  out  with  fatigue  and  afflicted  by  a  contagious  disease, 
were  quickly  overtaken  by  the  Greeks,  and  cut  in  pieces,  to  the  num- 
ber, it  is  said,  of  thirty  thousand  men.  Other  bodies  of  Mussulman 
troops  were  likewise  entirely  defeated  by  the  Maronites,  or  inhabi- 
tants of  Mount  Libanus.  These  multiplied  losses  induced  Moaviah 
to  sue  for  peace;  it  was  granted  on  condition  of  an  annual  tribute; 
and  Pogonatus  had  thus  the  honor  of  compelling  the  most  powerful 
prince  of  that  time,  to  become  a  tributary  of  the  empire. 

The  state  was  beginning  to  recover  its  ancient  splendor,  when  the 
Bulgarians,  a  barbarous  nation,  until  then  very  little  known,  m?ule 
settlements  near  Thrace  on  the  banks  of  the  Danube.  Notwithstaiid- 


176  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Part  IIL 


ing  the  wisdom  of  the  measures  adopted  by  the  emperor  to  drive 
them  back,  his  army  was  vanquished,  and  he  found  himself  obliged 
to  conclude  a  treaty,  not  very  honorable  indeed,  but  necessary  for  the 
tranquillity  of  his  subjects.  He  then  applied,  with  great  zeal  and 
success,  to  restore  the  peace  of  the  Church,  which  had  been  consider- 
ably disturbed  in  the  East  by  new  heresies.  This  good,  just  and 
pious  prince  died  in  the  eighteenth  year  of  a  reign  generally  pros- 
perous and  glorious  (A.  D.  685). 

After  his  death,  the  court  of  Constantinople  exhibited,  during  thirty 
years,  an  almost  uninterrupted  series  of  treasons  and  revolutions, 
which  it  would  be  equally  tedious  and  useless  to  relate.  Civil 
wars  were  also  carried  on  among  the  Saracens  for  the  possession  of 
the  supreme  power,  until  Abdel  Malek,  the  fourth  successor  of  Moa- 
yiah,  by  repeated  victories,  destroyed  his  competitors,  prostrated 
their  partisans,  and  was  acknowledged  sole  caliph  in  691. 


CONQUESTS  OF  THE  SARACENS  IN  AFRICA.-A.  D.  644—710. 

THIS  event  enabled  the  Arabs  to  resume  their  former  course  of  pro- 
selytism  and  conquest;  not  so  much  however  in  the  eastern  part  of 
the  Greek  empire,  where  they  now  suffered  frequent  defeats,  as  in 
other  countries.  Whilst  some  of  their  armies  penetrated  into  India, 
others,  taking  the  opposite  direction,  reached  the  western  extremity 
of  the  African  shores.  Yet  this  did  not  happen  till  after  a  long 
struggle  and  repeated  efforts,  the  subjugation  of  Africa  having  .been, 
of  all  their  conquests  in  the  civilized  world,  the  most  arduous  and 
painful.  Amrou  had  commenced  it  in  the  year  644 ;  a  second  ex- 
pedition was  undertaken  in  647  under  Abdalla,  his  successor  in  the 
government  of  Egypt.  With  an  army  of  forty  thousand  brave  war- 
riors, he  advanced  as  far  as  Tripoli,  a  town  advantageously  situated 
on  the  coast  of  the  Mediterranean  sea  opposite  to  Sicily.  For  want 
of  ships  and  engines  of  war,  he  could  take  neither  that  city  nor  an- 
other which  he  likewise  attacked ;  but  in  the  following  year,  he  sig- 
nalized himself  by  a  more  brilliant  expedition. 

At  the  approach  of  the  Mussulman  troops,  the  Patrician  Gregory 
who  commanded  in  those  parts,  had  assembled  one  hundred  and 
twenty  thousand  men,  either  Greeks  or  natives,  and  inspired  them 
with  his  own  ardor  for  the  defence  of  the  country.  He  attacKed  the 
Saracens  near  Yakoube,  and  these  enthusiastic  adventurers,  though 
far  inferior  in  numbers,  willingly  accepted  the  offer  of  battle.  Noth- 
ing indeed  ever  surpassed  the  animosity  of  the  combatants  on  each 
side,  nor  was  any  battle  ever  conducted  in  a  more  singular  manner. 


A.  D.  644-710..  SARACENS    IN   AFRICA.  177 

Every  day,  at  the  rising  of  the  sun,  the  two  armies  went  forth  from 
their  camp,  and  fought  valiantly  until  noon ;  then  equally  exhausted 
by  excess  of  heat  and  fatigue,  they  retired,  as  it  were,  by  common 
agreement,  and  disposed  themselves  to  recommence  the  next  morning. 

This  was  done  for  several  days  in  succession,  without  any  decided 
advantage  for  either  party ;  till  at  last  a  stratagem  of  the  Saracens 
rendered  them  completely  victorious.  By  the  advice  of  Zobeir,  one 
of  their  most  distinguished  officers,  part  of  their  troops  remained  in 
the  camp,  ready  to  march  at  the  first  signal,  whilst  the  others,  early 
in  the  morning,  went  forward  against  the  enemy.  The  engagement, 
as  usual,  was  terrible  and  obstinately  disputed,  Zobeir  purposely  pro- 
longing the  fight,  in  order  to  waste  the  strength  of  the  Africans.  At 
length  the  Saracens  withdrew  from  ihe  field,  and  laid  aside  their  ar- 
mor, as  if  to  take  some  repose;  the  Africans  also,  worn  out  with  fa- 
tigue and  burnt  by  the  sun,  began  to  retreat  towards  their  camp. 

At  this  moment,  the  Saracen  troops  in  reserve  mounted  their  horses, 
and,  with  the  indefatigable  Zobeir  at  their  head,  bore  down  upon  a 
wearied  enemy.  This  unexpected  attack  every  where  spread  terror 
and  confusion  among  the  Africans,  who  fled  in  every  direction. 
Gregory,  having  rallied  some  brave  soldiers,  endeavored,  but  in  vain, 
to  withstand  the  fury  of  the  assailants:  being  pierced  by  a  pike,  he 
died  on  the  spot  which  had  been  the  theatre  of  his  valor.  After  this, 
the  fugitives  were  pursued  with  great  slaughter,  and  the  Saracens 
easily  subdued  all  the  country  around,  and  obtained  an  immense 
booty.  Still,  as  they  had  themselves  suffered  a  great  loss  of  men  and 
horses,  they  did  not,  at  this  time,  proceed  farther,  but,  after  having 
taken  the  precaution  to  leave  garrisons  in  the  places  which  they  had 
conquered,  their  army  returned  to  Egypt  (A.  D.  648). 

No  other  troops  were  directed  against  Africa,  for  the  space  of 
seventeen  years,  namely  until  665,  when  a  brave  general,  called  Moa- 
viah,  like  the  celebrated  caliph  by  whom  he  was  sent,  gained  another 
victory  near  Tripoli ;  but  it  had  no  great  effect  with  regard  to  the  fate 
of  those  regions. 

In  670,  a  more  spirited  and  effectual  effort  was  made  by  Oucba, 
another  general  full  of  ardor  and  enthusiasm,  who  had  just  received 
orders  from  the  caliph  to  complete  the  subjection  of  the  whole  coast 
along  the  Mediterranean  sea.  This  intrepid  and  fanatic  warrior 
quickly  overran  all  that  part  of  Africa  included  in  his  commission. 
Torrents  of  Christian  blood  were  spilt  in  the  places  which  he  subdued ; 
although,  according  to  the  rule  laid  down  by  Abu-Beker,  he  spared 
old  people,  women  and  children,  and  sent  eighty  thousand  prisoners 
to  Egypt.  Not  satisfied  with  depopulating  the  Roman  provinces,  he 
attacked  and  put  to  the  sword  the  barbarians  of  Mount  Atlas,  and, 
having  at  length  reached  the  shores  of  the  Atlantic,  he  spurred  on 


178  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Part  I1L 


his  horse  into  the  sea,  and  loudly  expressed  his  regret  that  this  bar- 
rier should  oppose  his  farther  progress. 

On  his  return,  Oucba  was  guilty  of  great  imprudence.  Being  too 
easily  prompted  to  believe  that  the  country  was  entirely  subdued, 
he  dismissed  or  scattered  his  forces,  and  kept  only  five  thousand  men 
with  him.  This  rashness  caused  his  ruin.  There  were  still  many 
towns  occupied  by  the  Roman  troops,  the  rapidity  of  Oucba's  course 
not  having  permitted  him  to  attack  them,  and  drive  them  all  from 
Africa.  They  assembled  together  with  the  natives,  chose  for  their  lea- 
der Kuscile,  a  Moorish  prince  greatly  renowned  for  his  courage  and 
prudence,  and  marched  against  Oucba  before  he  had  time  to  collect 
his  own  troops. 

This  undaunted  man  did  not  hesitate  one  instant  to  go  and  fight 
them  with  a  handful  of  soldiers ;  determined  as  he  was  to  die  rather 
than  lose  his  former  glory,  he  met  the  confederates  half  way.  When, 
at  the  head  of  his  five  thousand  warriors,  he  was  in  sight  of  that 
army  of  a  hundred  thousand  men,  he  broke  in  pieces  the  scabbard 
of  his  sword;  all  his  followers  did  the  same,  and  then,  with  desperate 
fury,  fell  upon  the  enemy,  wishing  only  to  sell  their  lives  as  dearly  as 
possible.  In  fact,  not  one  of  them  died  until  he  had  slain  at  least  his 
first  antagonist,  whether  Roman  or  Moor,  and  the  combat  lasted  as 
long  as  there  remained  one  Saracen  alive.  Oucba  was  found  dead 
upon  a  heap  of  enemies  whom  his  sword  had  despatched;  and  the 
field  of  battle  which  is  to  this  day  called  the  field  of  Oucba,  still  bears 
testimony  to  his  intrepid  valor. 

This  loss  of  the  Saracens  prevented,  for  many  years  more,  the  en- 
tire reduction  of  Africa.  A  new  attempt  was  made  in  688  by  Zuheir, 
another  hero  of  Islamism  not  inferior  to  those  already  mentioned; 
but  this  undertaking,  like  the  expedition  of  Oucba,  although  at  first 
brilliantly  successful,  terminated,  like  the  former,  in  the  slaughter  of 
Zuheir  and  all  his  troops. 

Thus  did  northern  Africa  repeatedly  baffle  the  measures  and  foil 
the  efforts  of  its  invaders.  But  its  final  overthrow  was  now  at  hand. 
No  sooner  had  Abdel  Malek  prostrated  his  competitors  and  their  par- 
tisans, than  he  directed  his  attention  towards  the  achievement  of  this 
important  conquest,  and  raised  for  that  purpose  numerous  armies, 
the  command  of  which  he  intrusted  to  Hassan,  then  governor  of 
Egypt.  This  general,  equal  in  courage,  and  superior  in  skill  and 
prudence,  to  his  predecessors,  instead  of  overrunning  without  any 
fixed  object,  the  country  which  he  desired  to  conquer,  marche<3  di 
rectly  to  Carthage  its  capital,  and  took  it  by  storm  (A.  D.  697).  He 
left  a  garrison  there,  with  every  means  of  defence;  which,  however, 
did  not  prevent  the  Romans  from  reconquering  the  city  before  the 
end  of  the  same  year.  In  the  ensuing  year  (698),  Hassan,  after  de^ 


A.  o.  711—718. 


SARACENS   IN   SPAIN.  179 


feating  them  in  a  naval  battle,  took  Carthage  a  second  time,  and 
utterly  destroyed  that  celebrated  town,  without  any  regard  for  its  past 
glory  or  its  prospects  for  the  future. 

Thus  was  the  death-blow  given  to  Christianity  and  civilization  in 
Africa.  There  was  yet,  it  is  true,  some  show  of  resistance  on  the 
part  of  the  remaining  Romans  united  with  the  Moors;  but  the  perse- 
vering efforts  of  the  Saracens  overcame  all  obstacles,  and  the  whole 
region,  from  Egypt  to  the  straits  of  Gadez  or  Gibraltar,  was  finally 
subdued  in  the  year  710,  the  sixty-sixth  after  the  first  attempt  made 
by  Amrou.  The  generality  of  the  natives  gradually  embraced  the 
Mahometan  religion;  and  northern  Africa  soon  became  the  chief 
quarter  from  which  the  Saracens  issued  forth  to  pillage  the  coasts  of 
Italy  and  Sicily,  and  to  invade  the  rich  provinces  of  Spain, 


CONQUESTS  OF  THE  SARACENS  IN  SPAIN— A.  D.  711—718. 

THE  Visigoths  had  possessed  Spain  during  the  space  of  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  years,  when  the  misconduct  of  a  prince  and  the  trea- 
son of  a  subject  overthrew  their  flourishing  monarchy  almost  in  a 
moment.  King  Roderic,  shortly  after  his  accession  to  the  throne, 
dishonored  by  his  immorality  the  family  of  Count  Julian,  one  of  the 
most  distinguished  of  the  nation.  The  exasperated  nobleman,  in 
order  to  avenge  the  insult,  resolved  to  call  in  the  Saracens  of  Africa. 
He  conducted  this  fatal  design  with  all  the  ardor,  secrecy  and  ani- 
mosity of  which  the  spirit  of  revenge  is  capable ;  and  the  greatest 
enemies  of  his  religion  and  country  were  solicited  by  him  to  cross  the 
straits,  with  assurances  of  a  powerful  assistance  (A.  D.  711). 

This  proposal  was  readily  accepted,  and  Musa,  the  Saracen  gover- 
nor of  Africa,  sent  an  army  composed  of  Arabs  and  Moors,  under 
the  command  of  Tarik,  one  of  his  ablest  generals.  Roderic  had 
scarcely  heard  of  the  approach  of  the  invaders,  when  he  l«eheld  them 
at  the  gates  of  his  kingdom.  He  summoned  the  strength  of 
the  nation  to  attend  him  in  the  field,  and  raised  an  army  of  a  hun- 
dred thousand  men,  many  of  whom  unfortunately  were  rather 
effeminate  citizens  than  true  soldiers.  The  Saracens  had  scarcely 
one-third  of  that  number,  but  nearly  all  of  them  were  old  warriors, 
accustomed  to  fight,  hardened  against  fatigues,  proud  of  the  conquest 
of  Africa,  and  eager  in  propagating  the  empire  of  the  Koran  by  the 
effusion  of  Christian  blood. 

The  two  armies  met  near  Xeres  in  Andalusia,  and  being  animated, 
one  by  the  necessity  of  defending  the  national  liberty  and  religion, 
the  other  by  the  love  of  glory  and  conquest,  soon  came  to  a  furious 


180  MODERN    HISTORY.  Partm 

engagement.  The  animosity  and  obstinacy  of  the  combatants  made 
victory  for  a  long  time  doubtful;  for,  although  the  Gothic  army  was 
partly  composed  of  a  new  and  undisciplined  militia,  there  was  in  it  a 
sufficient  number  of  brave  soldiers  to  withstand  all  the  efforts  of  the 
Saracens,  and  the  king  himself  gave  such  proofs  of  personal  bravery, 
as  could  hardly  have  been  expected  in  a  man  of  his  dissolute  habits. 
All  this  raised  among  the  Goths  a  cheering  hope  of  the  fortunate 
issue  of  the  day  in^ their  favor,  when  a  sudden  treason  caused  victory 
to  declare  for  their  enemies. 

During  the  hottest  part  of  the  battle,  two  sons  of  King  Vitiza 
whom  Roderic  had  dethroned,  joined  the  Arabs  at  the  head  of  their 
partisans,  and  attacking  their  countrymen  in  the  flank,  threw  them 
into  irremediable  confusion.  The  Goths  frightened  by  so  strange  an 
event,  lost  courage  and  fled;  the  king,  after  using  his  utmost  exer- 
tions to  rally  the  fugitives,  was  himself  carried  away  by  their  multi- 
tudes, and  disappeared;  nor  was  his  fate  ever  perfectly  ascer- 
tained. His  horse  having  been  found,  with  the  royal  crown  and 
mantle,  at  a  short  distance  from  a  neighboring  river,  it  was  generally 
supposed  that  the  unhappy  monarch  had  been  drowned. 

This  day,  so  fatal  to  his  cause,  was  decisive  in  favor  of  the  inva- 
ders, on  account  of  the  immense  booty,  and  the  great  number  of 
standards  and  prisoners  that  fell  into  their  hands.  From  the  slain 
among  the  conquerors,  who  lost  sixteen  thousand,  may  be  gathered 
the  terrible  slaughter  of  the  vanquished.  But  the  most  certain  as 
well  as  most  important  result  of  the  battle  of  Xeres,  was  the  down- 
fall of  the  Gothic  monarchy,  which  disappeared  with  the  last  of  its 
sovereigns.  The  Saracens  easily  dispersed  the  remainder  of  its  sup- 
porters, and  directed  their  victorious  course  to  those  portions  of  Spain 
which  they  had  not  yet  invaded.  Musa,  the  African  governor,  ar- 
rived with  new  forces,  and  dividing  them  into  three  separate  bodies, 
overran  in  a  short  time  the  whole  peninsula  from  Gadez  to  the 
Pyrenees.  The  inhabitants  were  either  put  to  the  sword  or  made 
tributaries;  the  cities  were  destroyed,  or  compelled  to  submit  to  the 
Arabian  yoke. 

In  the  northern  part  of  Spain,  however,  a  small  number  of  Chris- 
tians preserved  their  independence.  Under  the  guidance  of  Pelagio 
and  Alfonso,  two  generous  princes  of  royal  descent,  they  retired  from 
the  invaded  provinces  to  the  remote  and  mountainous  district  of 
Asturias,  where  the  conquerors  at  first  perhaps  disdained,  and  soon 
after  were  unable  to  attack  them  with  success  (A.  D.  718).  This 
was  the  beginning  of  the  more  recent  kingdom  of  Spain,  which 
gradually  increased,  but  had  to  struggle  for  about  eight  hundred 
years,  before  it  could  be  rendered  as  extensive  as  the  first,  by  the  entire 
overthrow  of  the  Arabs  and  Moors  in  the  Spanish  peninsula. 


A.  D.  717-730.      SARACENS    DEFEATED;    ETC.  181 


SARACENS  DEFEATED  IN  THE  EAST— LEO  THE  1SAURIAN. 
A.  D.  717—730. 

THE  Saracens  had  now,  in  the  lapse  of  ninety  years,  achieved  as 
many  conquests,  as  the  ancient  Romans  had  done  in  seven  or  eight 
centuries ;  but  the  empire  of  the  former  was  not  settled  upon  so  last- 
ing and  solid  a  foundation  as  that  of  the  latter.  Even  at  the  time 
which  immediately  followed  the  subjection  of  Spain,  the  Mussul- 
mans experienced  signal  defeats,  whereby  their  power  and  glory 
were  greatly  impaired.  Having  a  second  time  attacked  Constanti- 
nople, both  by  land  and  sea,  they  were  again  repulsed,  with  the  loss 
of  more  than  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  men  who  perished 
by  famine,  cold,  pestilence,  or  the  sword  of  the  em>rny.  Their  fleet 
'also,  consisting  of  about  eighteen  hundred  ships,  was  utterly  destroy- 
ed, either  by  the  fury  of  storms,  or  the  violence  of  the  Grecian  fire. 
Only  five  ships  escaped  to  convey  to  Syria  the  news  of  that  frightful 
disaster  (A.  D.  718). 

The  emperor  of  Constantinople  at  this  period,  was  Leo  the  Isau- 
rian,  a  prince  justly  renowned  for  his  military  skill,  which  he  admira- 
bly displayed  during  the  siege  of  his  capital.  When  he  had  delivered 
the  empire  from  its  enemies,  he  undertook  a  war  of  a  very  different 
nature,  and  much  more  worthy  of  a  tyrant  than  of  a  wise  sovereign. 
Unwilling  to  comprehend  that  the  veneration  of  images  is  only 
an  inferior  honor  referred  to  the  person  whom  they  represent,  he 
published  a  s-evere  edict  against  the  use  of  them  in  churches,  as  if  it 
were  an  idolatrous  practice  j  and  thus  gave.rise  to  the  sect  of  Icono- 
clasts, or  Image-breakers. 

In  obedience  to  the  emperor's  orders,  the  pictures  and  images 
of  Christ  and  of  his  Saints  were  destroyed  in  many  places,  to 
the  great  scandal  of  the  faithful,  and  not  without  much  blood-shed 
and  innumerable  deeds  of  barbarous  cruelty.*  One  of  the  most 
shocking,  was  the  burning  of  the  twelve  learned  and  virtuous  libra- 
rians (whom  Leo  had  not  been  able  to  gain  over  to  his  party),  toge- 
ther with  the  public  library  of  Constantinople  (A.  D.  730).  This  per- 
secution was  carried  on  with  the  same  and  even  greater  violence  by 
his  successor,  Constantine  Copronymus,  and  continued  to  disturb 
both  Church  and  State  till  the  year  787,  when,  in  the  seventh  general 
council,f  the  second  of  Nice,  the  relative  honor  paid  to  images  was 

*  See  Theophanes'  Chronography  p.  339  ; — Anastasius,  in  Pap.  Grcgor. 
II; — Fleury,  Hist.  Ecdes.  b.  42,  n.  5, — Lebeau,  Hist,  du  Bas.  Emp.  b.  <J3, 
n.  50  etc.  vol.  13,  p.  357—363. 

f  The  fifth  general  council  had  been  held  under  Justinian,  in  553,  and  the 
sixth,  under  Constantine  Pogonatus  in  680,  (both  at  Constantinople);  for 
the  purpose  of  condemning  pernicious  writings  and  doctrines  connected 
with  the  Nestorian  and  Eutychian  heresies 

16 


182  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Part  III. 


solemnly  declared  to  be  according  to  apostolic  tradition,  and  to  the 
practice  of  the  primitive  Church ;  was  confirmed  by  examples  from 
Scriptures,  and  vindicated  from  the  charge  of  idolatry  and  superstition. 


SARACENS  DEFEATED  IN  FRANCE.-CHARLES  MARTEL, 
ETC.— A.  D.  731—752. 


In  the  west  of  Europe,  the  Arabs  and  Moors,  after  the  conquest  of 
Spain,  looked  upon  France  with  a  jealous  eye,  and  wished  to  bring 
it  also  under  their  power.  The  first  attempts  which  they  made  to 
this  effect,  had  but  little  success,  being  repeatedly  defeated  by  the 
brave  resistance  of  Eudes,  Duke  of  Aquitania.  But,  in  731,  a  new 
invasion  took  place  that  threatened  not  only  France,  but  likewise 
all  Christendom.  Four  hundred  thousand  Saracens,  having  at  their 
head  Abderame,  a  renowned  general,  crossed  the  Pyrenees,  and  driving 
every  thing  before  them,  filled  whole  provinces  with  terror  and  deso- 
lation. Their  march  every  where  exhibited  one  continued  scene  of 
conflagration,  plunder,  and  bloodshed.  They  who  had  the  good  for- 
tune to  escape  the  exterminating  sword  of  the  enemy,  were  seen 
flying  in  all  directions.  Eudes,  who  attempted  to  check  the  career 
of  the  Saracens,  was  defeated,  and  forced  to  abandon  his  dukedom 
to  the  victorious  barbarians. 

They  then  advanced  without  obstacle  as  far  as  the  river  Loire, 
into  the  very  heart  of  France,  constantly  marking  their  passage 
with  the  most  frightful  ravages.  The  French  monarchy  seemed  to 
be  on  the  brink  of  ruin;  every  day  added  to  its  dangers;  but  fortu- 
nately, it  possessed  at  that  time,  in  the  person  of  Duke  Charles,  the 
greatest  general  of  Christendom.  This  hero,  who  had  been  hitherto 
engaged  in  subduing  the  restless  tribes  of  Germany,  was  no  sooner 
informed  of  the  progress  of  the  Saracens,  than  he  marched  from  the 
north  with  a  choice  body  of  thirty  thousand  warriors,  and  meeting 
the  enemy  between  the  cities  of  Poitiers  and  Tours,  soon  put  an  end 
to  their  triumphant  and  destructive  course. 

Seven  days  were  spent  on  each  side  in  preparing  for  a  general 
engagement.  On  the  eighth  day,  the  French,  animated  by  the  pre- 
sence of  their  invincible  leader,  briskly  charged  the  barbarians,  and 
began  to  pierce  the  thickest  battalions  by  the  tremendous  blows  of 
their  sabres  and  battle-axes.  The  Saracens  sustained  the  attack  with 
equal  courage,  and,  though  numbers  of  them  fell  dead,  still  vigor- 
ously resisted,  by  constantly  opposing  fresh  troops  to  the  impetuosity 
of  the  assailants.  The  battle  was  fought  in  this  manner  for  several 
hours,  during  which  the  Mussulman  army  was  mowed  down  with 


A.  D.  731-752.      SARACENS    DEFEATED,    ETC.  183 

uninterrupted  and  frightful  slaughter.  Towards  the  close  of  the  day, 
Abderame  fell  among  the  dead.  Night  separated  the  combatants, 
who  retired  to  their  respective  camps,  but  with  very  different  feelings 
— the  French,  with  the  consciousness  of  their  advantage,  the  Arabs, 
in  deep  consternation.  These  fierce  invaders,  a  short  time  before  so 
proud  of  past  success,  but  now  reduced  to  a  small  number,  and  sen- 
sible of  their  immense  loss,  availed  themselves  of  the  darkness  to 
effect  their  retreat,  and  precipitately  retraced  their  steps  towards  the 
Pyrenees. 

So  great  was  the  number  of  the  Saracens  who  fell  in  the  battle, 
that,  according  to  many  historians,  it  exceeded  three  hundred  thou- 
sand, whereas  the  loss  of  the  French  scarcely  amounted  to  fifteen  hun- 
dred men.  Hence  the  defeat  of  the  former  is  considered  by  all  as  one 
of  the  most  signal  that  ever  happened,  and  the  victory  of  the  latter  as 
one  of  the  most  complete,  important  and  decisive  ever  gained,  as  it 
was  thought  to  have  saved,  not  only  France,  but  all  Europe  from  the 
yoke  of  barbarism  and  infidelity.  It  is  also  commonly  believed  that 
this  was  the  day  on  which  Charles  acquired  the  surname  of  Martel 
(hammer),  because,  like  a  hammer,  he  had  broken  to  pieces  the 
weapons  and  crushed  the  power  of  the  Saracens  (A.  D.  732). 

This  great  man  continued  to  conquer  all  his  enemies,  and  to  go- 
vern France,  as  he  had»done  before,  with  sovereign  authority  under 
the  title  of  duke.  There  still  existed  kings  and  princes  of  the  family 
of  Clovis ;  but  they  were  generally  weak  and  indolent,  abandoning 
the  cares  of  government  to  their  prime-ministers.  Pepin  the  Short, 
who,  in  741 ,  inherited  the  power  and  great  qualities  of  his  father 
Charles,  thought  of  taking  the  last  step  towards  the  throne.  This 
appeared  so  much  the  easier,  as  existing  circumstances  seemed  to 
favor  the  execution  of  his  project;  on  one  hand,  the- mode  of  succes- 
sion of  the  last  kings,  which  had  bordered  on  the  elective,  and  the 
inability  of  the  present  sovereign,  Childeric  III,  contrasted  with  his 
own  transcendent  merit ;  and  on  the  other,  the  wishes  of  the  French 
people,  and  the  favorable,  though  very  prudent,  answer  of  Pope 
Zachary,  who  was  consulted  on  the  subject,  emboldened  him  to 
prosecute  his  design.* 

Pepin  therefore  took  his  final  resolution,  and  was  proclaimed  king 
in  a  general  assembly  of  the  nation  (A.  D.  752);  Childeric  having 
been  in  the  mean  time  removed  to  a  monastery,  where  he  died  three 
years  after.  In  this  prince  ended  the  dynasty  of  the  Merovingian 
sovereigns,  after  having  occupied  the  French  throne  about  three  hun- 
dred years,  during  which  it  produced  but  few  good  and  great  mo- 
narchs.  Dissensions  and  civil  wars  first  weakened  its  power ;  fre- 
quent indolence  and  incapacity  completed  its  downfall. 
*  See  note  F. 


184  MODERN    HISTORY.  Part  in. 


PEPIN,  KING  OF  FRANCE.— A.  D.  752— 7G3. 

PEPIN  showed  himself  every  way  worthy  of  the  high  station  to 
which  he  was  now  raised.  He  not  only  maintained  profound  tran- 
quillity in  his  kingdom,  but  extended  its  limits,  and,  from  the  very 
beginning  of  his  reign,  signalized  himself  by  a  brilliant  expedition 
equally  important  in  itself  and  in  its  consequences. 

By  this  time,  the  Lombards,  already  masters  of  a  great  part  of  Italy, 
aimed  at  subduing  the  whole,  and  indeed  conquered  the  province  of 
Ravenna,  which,  under  ihe  name  of  Exarchate,  had  until  then 
belonged  to  the  emperors  of  Constantinople.  Rome  itself  being  on  the 
point  of  falling  into  their  power,  Pope  Stephen  sent  to  implore  neces- 
sary succors  from  Constantine  Copronymus,  in  whose  name  the 
government  of  Rome  was  still  exercised.  But  that  emperor  was  too 
deeply  engaged  in  warring  against  the  images  of  the  Saints,  to  think 
of  sending  troops  against  the  Lombards.  In  this  extremity,  the  Ro- 
mans embraced  the  last  resource  which  was  left  them,  that  of  calling 
the  valiant  monarch  of  the  French  to  their  assistance. 

The  Pope  went  in  person  to  France,  where  he  was  received  with 
all  possible  honor  and  respect,  and  found  the  king  and  his  lords  ready 
to  undertake  the  defence  of  Rome  against  its  obstinate  enemies.  But 
before  any  act  of  hostility,  and  in  order  to  prevent  the  effusion  of 
Christian  blood,  deputies  were  sent,  at  the  Pope's  request,  to  Astol- 
phus,  king  of  the  Lombards,  strongly  to  exhort  him  to  do  justice, 
and  renounce  his  ambitious  views.  The  fierce  Lombard  answered 
the  proposal  with  threats  and  insults.  Pepin  then  marched  with  his 
troops  into  Italy,  and  forcing  the  passage  of  the  Alps,  defeated  the 
Lombards,  and  obliged  Astolphus  to  shut  himself  up  in  Pavia,  his 
capital,  where,  after  a  short  siege,  the  vanquished  prince  consented 
to  accept  the  terms  of  peace  offered  by  the  conqueror.  With  the 
most  solemn  promises  he  agreed  to  restore  the  towns  which  he  had 
taken,  and  to  put  every  thing  in  the  same  state  as  before  the  war. 
Pepin,  relying  on  his  word,  contrary  to  the  advice  of  the  pope  who 
knew  the  character  of  Astolphus  better,  returned  to  France. 

Scarcely  had  he  departed,  when  the  perfidious  Lombard  recom- 
menced hostilities,  and  laid  siege  to  Rome,  around  which  he  renewed 
all  the  the  ravages  of  the  late  war;  Stephen  had  recourse  again  to 
his  royal  protector,  and  Pepin  again  hastened  across  the  Alps  into 
Lombardy.  His  march  was  equally  successful  and  rapid.  Astol- 
phus dared  not  face  him  in  the  field,  postponed  no  longer  the  execu- 
tion of  the  stipulated  treaty,  and  was  moreover  condemned  to  bear 
the  expenses  of  the  war. 


A.  v.  752-768.         PEPIN;  KING    OF  FRANCE.  185 

At  this  juncture,  two  ambassadors  arrived  from  Constantinople,  to 
claim  for  the  emperor  the  restitution  of  the  cities  and  provinces  which 
had  been  usurped  by  the  Lombards.  Pepin  answered,  with  a  firm 
tone,  that  these  countries  being  now  his  conquest  as  justly  as  any 
one  obtained  in  a  lawful  war,  it  was  quite  surprising  that  the  Greeks 
should  claim  for  themselves  the  fruit  of  his  labors,  and  the  posses- 
sion of  lands  and  places  which  they  had  been  neither  willing  to  de- 
fend, nor  able  to  preserve:  accordingly,  as  it  was  not  for  their  master 
that  he  and  his  troops  had  undergone  so  many  fatigues,  it  was  not  to 
him  that  he  would  resign  what  he  had  so  justly  acquired. 

The  French  king  intended  to  make  a  donation  of  his  conquests  in 
Italy  to  Pope  Stephen  and  his  successors  in  the  pontifical  chair. 
After  the  Greek  deputies  had  retired,  he  executed  his  resolution,  by  a 
solemn  grant  to  the  see  of  Rome  of  that  part  of  Italy  which  is,  on 
this  account,  called  the  Ecclesiastical  State,  and  has  ever  since  com- 
posed the  temporal  dominions  of  the  popes.  Before  that  time,  they  had 
been  subject  in  civil  matters  to  the  Roman  or  Greek  emperors:  but, 
when  the  Roman  empire  no  longer  comprised  the  generality  of 
Christendom;  when,  after  its  downfall  in  the  West,  there  sprung  up 
from  its  ruins  innumerable  states  and  kingdoms,  whose  pretensions, 
views  and  interests  were  different,  nay,  commonly  opposite;  it  was 
the  kind  design  and  will  of  Divine  providence,  that  the  popes  should 
become  totally  independent  of  the  power  and  influence  of  any 
secular  prince.  This  independence  they  obtained .  through  the  instru- 
mentality of  Pepin  and  his  successor  Charlemagne,  who  conferred 
on  the  Popes  such  an  extent  of  temporal  power  as  might  enable  them 
freely  to  exercise  their  spiritual  authority.* 

The  middle  of  the  eighth  century  seemed  destined  to  witness  great 
changes  in  every  part  of  the  world.  For,  at  that  period,  the  Om- 
miades  who  had  held  the  Mussulman  sceptre  for  about  a  hundred 
years,  were,  after  a  bloody  struggle,  deprived  of  their  ascendency  by 
the  Abassides,  another  powerful  family  among  the  Arabs.  Abul- 
Abbas  was  the  first  caliph  of  this  new  dynasty.  His  successor,  Al- 
manzor,  built  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Tigris  the  splendid  city  of  Bag- 
dad, which  he  made  his  residence;  and  this  city  became,  under  the 
Abassides,  what  Damascus  had  been  under  the  Ommiades,  and 
Medina,  under  the  first  successors  of  Mahomet. 

In  the  same  time,  Abderame,  one  of  the  Ommiades,  having  es- 
caped the  ruin  of  his  family,  fled  from  Asia  to  Spain,  where  he 
found  the  power  of  the  Saracens  much  weakened  by  their  late  de- 
feats in  France,  by  the  progress  of  the  Christians  in  Asturias,  and 
by  their  own  dissensions  and  feuds.  Putting  himself  at  the  head  of 
one  of  the  contending  parties,  he  overcame  the  others,  and  founded 
See  note  G. 


1  Sij  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Tart  III. 


a  kingdom  free  from  all  allegiance  to  the  caliphs  of  Bagdad.  Cordova 
was  the  capital  of  this  new  empire. 

The  late  defeats  just  mentioned,  of  the' Saracens  in  France,  had 
been  achieved  by  King  Pepin.  This  warlike  monarch  drove  them 
entirely  beyond  the  Pyrenees,  added  Aquitania  to  his  dominions, 
and  moreover  enabled  himself,  by  his  activity  and  constant  vigilance, 
to  render  his  arms  equally  formidable  to  the  various  nations  of  Ger- 
many. Broken  down  by  the  hardships  of  so  many  campaigns, 
rather  than  by  old  age,  he  died  in  the  fifty-fourth  year  of  his  life, 
the  seventeenth  year  of  his  reign,  and  the  twenty-seventh  of  his  poli- 
tical and  public  career  (A.  D.  76^). 

Valor,  prudence,  all  the  endowments  of  a  noble  mind  and  a 
generous  soul,  though  somewhat  tinged  with  ambition,  contributed 
to  make  Pepin  an  almost  accomplished  monarch.  He  possessed  a 
surprising  talent  for  conciliating  esteem,  respect  and  affection.  Al- 
though his  birth  did  not  call  him  to  the  throne,  he  ascended  it  with 
general  applause,  and,  from  the  beginning,  so  well  established  his 
authority,  that  no  mention  is'  made  of  the  least  rebellion  during  his 
reign.  Prudence  was  his  predominant  quality,  and  one  of  the  great- 
est praises  that  could,  in  after  ages,  be  bestowed  On  a  prince,  was  to 
say  of  him:  "lie  is  as  prudent  as  Pepin."  In  a  word,  being  the 
son  of  one  hero  and  the  father  of  another,  he  appeared  worthy  of 
both,  and  historians  observe  that  every  thing  was  remarkable  in  him, 
except  his  size  from  which  he  derived  the  surname  of  Short. 

But  even  that,  although  for  many  persons  an  object  of  raillery,  be- 
came for  Pepin  an  occasion  of  glory.  On  a  certain  day,  as  he  was 
witnessing  the  combat  of  a  bull  and  a  lion  exhibited  for  the  amuse- 
ment of  the  court,  he  turned  to  his  attendants,  and  asked  which  of 
them  felt  bold  enough  to  separate  those  furious  beasts.  Not  one 
dared  make  the  attempt,  "  Mine  then  shall  be  the  task,"  replied  Pe- 
pin; and  leaping  into  the  circus,  he  went  to  the  lion  which  he  killed 
by  a  single  blow  of  his  cimeter,  and  with  another  stroke  cut  off  the 
head  of  the  bull.  All  extolled  his  bravery,  and  acknowledged  the 
impropriety  of  their  railleries. 


CHARLEMAGNE,  KING  OF  FRANCE  AND  LOMBARDY. 
A.  D.  768—800. 


IT  would  have  been  no  small  honor  for  the  successor  of  Pepin,  to 
follow  the  footsteps  of  this  great  prince.  Charles  his  eldest  son,  did 
more  than  this;  he  surpassed  him,  and  by  the  invincible  firmness  of 
his  mind,  the  superiority  of  his  genius,  and  the  incredible  number  of 


A.O.  76a-800.       CHARLEMAGNE;  KING,  ETC.  187 

his  exploits,  raised  the  French  monarchy  to  the  highest  degree  of 
splendor  that  it  ever  attained. 

In  effect,  a  continual  series  of  victories  gained  over  the  Saxons, 
the  Lombards,  the  Saracens,  the  Greeks,  the  Avari,  and  other  na- 
tions; the  conquest  of  Saxony,  Bavaria,  Noricum,  Austria,  Pannonia, 
Bohemia,  and  of  a  considerable  part  of  Italy  and  Spain ;  the  diligent 
and  wise  admiaistration  of  his  extensive  dominions,  during  a  great 
number  of  years;  the  civilization  of  Germany;  the  revival  of  sciences 
and  literature;  the  re-establishment  of  the  western  empire  with  all 
its  prerogatives  in  favor  of  the  French  monarch  and  of  his  successors : 
such  are  the  splendid  characteristics  with  which  the  reign  of  Charle- 
magne presents  itself  to  the  admiration  of  posterity. 

He  began  by  chastising  the  Aquitanians  now  armed  against  him, 
and  the  Saxons  who,  at  the  other  extremity  of  his  kingdom,  had 
made  inroads  upon  his  territory.  After  this  double  campaign,  he 
was  called  into  Italy  for  a  still  more  glorious  and  useful  expedition 
against  Desiderius,  king  of  the  Lombards,  who  obstinately  refused  to 
abide  by  the  treaty  concluded  by  his  predecessor  Astolphus  with 
Pepin.  That  restless  and  ambitious  prince  was  even  threatening  the 
city  of  Rome,  nor  could  the  favorable  conditions  which  were  offered 
him,  prevail  upon  him  to  give  satisfaction. 

Charles  therefore  resolved,  at  the  entreaties  of  the  Romans,  to  af- 
ford them  speedy  relief,  and  rescue  them  from  their  foe  by  measures 
more  vigorous  and  efficacious  than  mere  exhortations.  After  the 
example  of  his  father  in  like  circumstances,  he  crossed  the  Alps  at 
the  head  of  a  gallant  army,  put  the  Lombards  to  flight,  and  in  a  few 
weeks  rendered  himself  master  of  almost  all  the  country  which  they 
possessed  between  the  Po  and  the  mountains.  Still,  Pavia,  their 
capital,  where  Desiderius  had  taken  his  last  refuge,  resisted  for  six 
months;  during  that  time  Charles,  whilst  the  siege  was  continued 
by  his  troops,  went  to  Rome,  and  visited  Pope  Adrian  I,  a  pontiff 
equally  conspicuous  for  his  ability  and  virtue. 

The  pope  received  his  royal  guest  with  great  joy  and  extraordinary 
honors,  and  Charles  in  return  manifested  his  respectful  attachment 
to  the  Apostolic  See,  by  ratifying  and  augmenting  the  donation 
which  Pepin  had  made  in  its  favor.  Upon  his  return  to  the  camp 
before  Pavia,  King  Desiderius  surrendered  at  discretion.  Charles 
spared  his  life,  but  sent  him  to  a  distant  monastery,  and,  by  bein£f 
crowned  and  acknowledged  in  his  place,  annihilated  the  separate 
kingdom  of  Lombardy,  which  had  lasted  two  hundred  and  six  years 
(A.  D.  774). 

Scarcely  was  this  important  conquest  achieved,  when  he  was  ear- 
nestly begged  to  pass  over  to  Spain,  for  the  purpose  of  resetting  some 
Moorish  princes,  his  allies  or  tributaries,  from  their  oppressors  of  the 


188  MODERN    HISTORY.  rartlIL 

same  nation.  Complying  with  the  request,  he  subdued  the  north 
of  the  Spanish  peninsula  with  as  much  facility  as  he  had  subdued 
the  north  of  Italy,  and  with  a  very  trifling  loss.  But,  as  he  was 
leading  back  his  victorious  troops  to  France,  being  himself  at  the  head 
of  the  van-guard,  the  rear  was  defeated  by  the  Gascons  in  the  defiles 
of  the  Pyrenees  (A.  D.  778).  This  however  neither  impaired  hi$ 
personal  reputation,  nor  made  him  lose  the  fruit  of  his  campaign. 

Immediately  after  his  return,  Charles  had  to  renew  the  war  against 
the  Saxons.  This  warlike  and  savage  people,  though  conquered 
many  times  before,  did  not  cease,  by  their  yearly  revolts,  to  trouble 
the  French  monarch,  and  furnish  him  with  continual  occasions  of 
exerting  his  valor,  and  exercising  towards  them  his  clemency  or  his 
justice.  On  the  return  of  almost  every  spring,  they  signalized  their 
ferocious  courage,  by  laying  waste  the  countries  situated  between 
the  Rhine  and  the  Weser.  As  often  indeed  as  they  took  up  arms, 
Charlemagne  forced  them  to  submit,  and  to  implore  his  mercy;  but 
he  had,  among  their  chiefs,  an  implacable  enemy,  whom  nothing 
could  subdue.  Always  at  the  head  of  the  rebels,  this  fierce  warrior, 
when  defeated,  disappeared  for  a  time,  and,  like  another  Arminius, 
returned  to  renew  the  attack  as  soon  as  he  perceived  in  the  attempt  a 
gleam  of  success. 

Witikind  was  the  name  of  this  undaunted  Saxon.  lie  spent  the 
time  during  the  absence  of  Charles,  in  urging  his  countrymen  to 
take  up  arms  again  j  and  they,  readily  complying  with  the  summons, 
overthrew  all  the  monuments  of  religion  and  foreign  power  which 
existed  in  that  part  of  Germany.  Some  French  troops  having  en- 
deavored to  suppress  the  rebellion,  were  themselves,  through  the 
misunderstanding  of  their  generals,  defeated  and  cut  in  pieces. 

Charlemagne,  little  accustomed  to  receive  such  news,  was  much 
afflicted  at  this  event,  and  lost  no  time  in  repairing,  or  at  least  in 
checking  the  evil.  He  marched  in  person  at  the  head  of  a  new 
army,  and  suddenly  appearing  among  the  Saxons,  again  forced  them 
to  submission.  They  came  to  him  in  great  fear,  and  suppliantly 
sued  for  pardon,  ascribing  the  guilt  of  the  late  revolt  to  Witikind  who 
had  now  taken  refuge  among  the  Danes.  But  Charles,  as  dissatis- 
fied with  this  excuse  as  he  was  exasperated  at  their  continual  acts  of 
rebellion,  and  not  believing  it  possible  to  tame  their  ferocious  spirit 
otherwise  than  by  exercising  severe  justice,  required  the  other  chief 
rebels  to  be  immediately  delivered  into  his  hands,  and  sentenced  them 
to  be  beheaded  on  the  same  day,  to  the  number,  it  is  said,  of  four 
thousand  five  hundred. 

He  had  intended,  by  this  rigorous  chastisement,  to  inspire  the 
whole  nation  with  a  salutary  and  lasting  fear;  but  the  deep  mourn- 
ing which  it  first  occasioned,  was  quickly  turned  into  fresh  and 


A.D.76&-800.      CHARLEMAGNE;    KING,    ETC.  189 

ungovernable  animosity.  Witikind  once  more  re-appeared,  and 
going  through  the  different  parts  of  the  country,  infused  into  every 
breast  his  own  fury  and  desire  of  revenge.  Fury  however  was  of 
little  avail  against  the  warlike  genius  and  activity  of  the  French 
monarch.  He  attacked  them  before  they  could  muster  all  their' 
forces,  defeated  them  in  three  bloody  battles,  and  did  not  cease  during 
three  years  to  visit  with  a  terrible  retribution  every  quarter  of  that 
unhappy  region. 

Still,  Charles  ardently  desired  the  end  of  a  war  which  proved  so 
destructive  and  fatal  to  his  subjects,  as  well  as  to  his  enemies.  Re- 
suming therefore  his  former  course  of  moderate  measures,  more  con- 
formable to  his  character  than  measures  of  rigor,  he  undertook  to 
gain  by  mildness  the  very  men  whom  the  utmost  severity  and  the 
most  terrible  disasters  could  scarcely  subdue.  Through  his  deputies, 
he  represented  to  the  Saxon  leaders  how  many  calamities,  they  had 
brought  upon  their  countrymen  and  upon  themselves,  and  promised 
them  not  only  entire  safety,  but  even  great  honors,  if  they  would  lay 
down  their  arms. 

At  first,  Witikind  and  Abbon,  another  renowned  chieftain,  could 
hardly  believe  that  the  king  was  sincere  in  offering  them  such  favor- 
able conditions;  but  being  at  last  induced  to  rely  on  his  word,  they 
went  boldly  to  meet  him.  Charles  received  them  with  so  much  kind- 
ness, and  treated  them  with  such  generosity,  that  they  did  not  hesi- 
tate any  longer  to  swear  inviolable  fidelity  to  so  great  a  prince,  and 
asked  to  be  instructed  in  the  Christian  religion,  which  they  sincerely 
embraced  (A.  D.  785).  This  step  was  followed  by  the  entire  reduc- 
tion of  Saxony.  Partial  revolts,  it  is  true,  continued  to  exercise  for 
some  years  the  activity  of  Charlemagne ;  but  these  were  much  more 
easily  checked  than  the  former;  and,  in  order  to  prevent  their  revival 
in  future,  thirty  thousand  Saxon  families  were  transported  from  the 
north  of  Germany  to  other  parts  of  the  French  empire.  At  length, 
after  an  obstinate  struggle  of  thirty  years,  this  extensive  country  was 
entirely  subdued,  and  being-  now  reckoned  among  the  dominions  of 
the  French  king,  consented  to  receive  the  two-fo^d  benefit  of  civiliza- 
tion and  Christianity. 

But  new  wars  were  threatening  in  other  quarters.  The  conquests 
made  by  the  French  having  awakened  the  fears  and  jealousy  of  the 
neighboring  nations,  their  sovereigns  concluded  for  their  mutual  sup- 
port a  powerful  league,  which,  however,  only  afforded  Charlemagne 
an  occasion  to  gain  new  laurels  and  to  enlarge  his  empire.  .  All  his 
enemies  fell  into  the  very  snaro  they  had  prepared  for  him.  He 
subdued  the  Bavarians,  conquered  the  Greeks,  carried  his  victorious 
arms  into  Pannonia,  and  defeated  the  Avari  so  often  and  with  so 
great  a  loss  on  their  part,  that  this  nation  disappeared  from  the-  earth, 


190  MODERN   HISTORY.  Part  lu 

and  left  in  his  power  both  their  settlements  along  the  Danube,  and 
the  prodigious  wealth  which  they  had  acquired  within  the  two  last 
centuries  by  the  pillage  of  the  Greek  provinces  (A.  D.  796). 

When  Charlemagne  had  obtained,  by  so  many  labors,  a  state  of 
•  comparative  tranquillity,  he  applied  himself  more  than  ever  to  make 
religion,  justice,  agriculture  and  commerce  flourish  throughout  his 
vast  empire.  These  great  and  useful  objects  he  always  kept  in  view, 
even  when  engaged  in  different  wars ;  but  more  particularly  when 
his  sons  and  generals  became  capable  of  filling  his  place  at  the  head 
of  armies.  The  interior  government  of  the  state  was  then  his  chief  em- 
ployment. His  wisdom  in  enacting  laws  most  suitable  for  the  time, 
place  and  other  circumstances,  and  his  firmness  in  enforcing  their 
execution,  enabled  him  to  restore  good  order  wherever  it  had  been 
disturbed,  and  to  repress  grievous  abuses  which  had  taken  their  rise 
be-fore  the  reign  of  his  father  Pepin. 

One  of  the  principal  means  that  he  employed  for  the  attainment 
of  these  important  objects,  was  to  commission  regularly  every  year, 
persons  of  integrity,  wisdom  and  experience,  vested  with  ample 
powers,  to  visit  the  several  parts  of  his  extensive  monarchy,  to  inquire 
into  the  conduct  of  public  officers,  remove  iniquitous  judges,  redress 
grievances,  and  check  disorders  and  crimes.  It  was  the  duty  of  these 
royal  commissioners,  to  free  the  provinces  which  they  visited  from 
robbers  and  other  malefactors,  to  protect  the  weak  and  innocent,  in  a 
word,  to  make  all  the  subjects  of  the  empire  enjoy  the  benefits  of  a 
wise,  firm  and  moderate  government.  Affairs  involving  difficulties 
and  requiring  a  protracted  examination,  were  referred  to  the  superior 
authority  of  the  king.  It  was  principally  in  the  general  assemblies 
which,  by  his  orders,  annually  met  in  his  presence,  that  Charlemagne 
instituted  a  strict  inquiry  into  the  wants,  and  applied  the  best  remedies 
to  the  evils  of  the  state.  Here,  surrounded  by  his  counsellors  and 
the  representatives  of  the  nation,  he  discussed  with  them  the  most 
important  affairs,  adopted  the  measures  for  the  preservation  of  public 
tranquillity,  and  enacted  those  celebrated  statutes  known  under  the 
name  of  Capitulars,  which  constitute  the  most  valuable  part  of  the 
ancient  legislation  of  the  Franks. 

Charlemagne  undertook  likewise  to  raise  literature  and  science  from 
the  low  state  to  which  ihe  invasion  of  northern  barbarians  had 
reduced  them  during  the  last  centuries.  Accordingly,  he  invited  men 
of  great  erudition  from  foreign  states  to  his  court,  and  with  their  help 
established,  in  the  principal  towns  of  France  and  Germany,  public 
schools  for  the  purpose  of  promoting  the  study  of  every  branch  of 
true  and  useful  knowledge.  The  most  celebrated  among  them  was 
Alcuin,  a  learned  and  virtuous  Englishman,  whom  the  French  mo- 
narch loaded  with  honors  and  blessings.  This  prince  appointed  him 


A.  D.  7(^-800.      CHARLEMAGNE,   KING,  ETC.  191 

to  open  a  great  school  in  his  own  palace,  and  to  deliver  lectures,  at. 
which  he  himself  usually  assisted  with  his  sons  and*bther  person- 
ages of  his  court.  By  these  noble  exertions,  he  made  the  desire  of 
instruction  almost  universal  among  his  subjects.  Various  establish- 
ments arose,  especially  in  great  cities,  for  the  revival  of  science,  and 
historians  remark  particularly  a  sort  of  academy,  or  society  of  learned 
men,  who  had  frequent  debates  or  kept  up  an  animated  correspon- 
dence on  scientific  and  literary  subjects,  the  king  himself  being  one 
of  its  most  distinguished  members. 

Charlemagne  was  now  at  the  height  of  his  glory,  and  the  celebrity 
of  his  name  had  reached  the  most  distant  parts  of  the  civilized  world. 
The  kings  of  the  English  Heptarchy  solicited  his  friendship ;  the 
Saracens  of  Spain  dreaded  his  arms  ;  Irene,  the  empress  of  Constan- 
tinople, entered  into  a  treaty  of  alliance  with  him ;  and  the  celebrated 
Caliph  Aaron-Al-Rashid,  the  greatest  monarch  of  the  East,  and,  like 
Charles  himself,  a  zealous  protector  of  learning  and  learned  men, 
sent  ambassadors  to  him  from  Bagdad,  with  splendid  gifts,  among 
which  were  the  keys  of  the  city  of  Jerusalem,  a  repeating  clock,  and 
an  elephant  (the  first  that  had  been  seen  in  France)  :  in  a  word,  the 
whole  earth  admired  his  wisdom  and  respected  his  power.  By  the 
vigor  and  success  of  his  military  exertions,  he  had  become  master  of 
a  greater  extent  of  country  than  any  prince  had  possessed  in  Europe 
since  the  fall  of  the  western  empire  :  /aTl  the  territory  that  composes 
modern  France ;  Spain,  from  the  Pyrenees  to  the  Ebro ;  the  greater 
part  of  Italy;  Tyrol;  Pannonia ;  Noricum  or  Austria;  Helvetia 
or  Switzerland ;  Bavaria ;  Saxony,  as  far  as  the  Elbe ;  Frisia  and 
Holland  were  subject  to  that  mighty  monarch.  Nothing  was  want- 
ing to  his  earthly  grandeur  but  the  imperial  diadem ;  and  even  that 
was  bestowed  upon  him  about  this  time,  in  the  most  flattering 
manner. 

Just  at  the  end  of  the  eighth  century,  he  had  repaired  to  Rome  for 
the  purpose  of  defending  Pope  Leo  III  against  wicked  and  unjust 
persecutors.  In  return  for  this  and  other  benefits,  the  Romans  agreed 
to  proclaim  Charlemagne  emperor  of  the  West.  Accordingly,  as  he 
was  assisting  at  the  divine  office  in  St.  Peter's  church  on  Christmas- 
day,  the  pope  approached,  and,  in  presence  of  a  multitude  of  bishops 
and  Igrds  and  an  immense  crowd  of  people,  placed  on  his  head  the 
imperial  crown  which  had  been  purposely  prepared,  all  present  cry- 
ing out  at  the  same  time,  in  transports  of  joy;  "Life  and  victory  to 
Charles,  most  pious,  the  great  and  pacific  emperor  of  the  Romans;" 
this  was  repeated  three  times  (A.  D.  800). 

Thus  was  the  Roman  empire,  three  hundred  and  twenty-four  years 
after  its  extinction  in  the  West,  revived  in  favor  of  a  monarch  truly 
,  by  his  piety,  valor  and  heroic  actions,  to  be  the  successoi 


192  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Part  III. 


of  Theodosius  and  Constantine.  The  singular  modesty  which  he 
evinced  on  that  occasion,  made  him  appear  still  more  worthy  of  the 
extraordinary  honors  he  then  received.  We  Irarn  from  EginhanJ, 
his  secretary,  that  he  was  totally  unacquainted  with  the  design  of  the 
pope  and  of  the  Romans.  In  returning  from  the  divine  service,  he 
declared  that,  had  he  known  what  was  to  take  place,  he  would  have 
abstained  from  going  to  church  on  that  day,  notwithstanding  the 
solemnity  of  the  festival. 

From  this  time  forward,  Charlemagne  joined  the  title  of  Roman 
emperor  with  that  of  king  of  France  and  Lombardy.  During  the 
stay  which  he  made  in  Rome  after  the  ceremony  of  his  coronation, 
his  extraordinary  munificence  and  generosity  gained  him  more  and 
more  the  hearts  of  the  people.  Even  the  court  of  Constantinople 
acquiesced  at  last  in  acknowledging  him.  as  emperor  of  the  West, 
though  with  great  repugnance  :  but  the  consent  was  necessary,  and 
the  refusal  would  have  been  useless,  and  perhaps  dangerous. 


REMARKS  ON  THE  STATE  OF  CIVILIZATION,  LEARNING 
AND  PARTICULARLY  RELIGION, 

DURING  THE  THIRD  PART  OF  MODERN  HISTORY. 

No  one,  well  acquainted  with  the  history  of  remote  ages,  can  for- 
bear noticing  that  contagious  .distempers,  famine,  and  other  similar 
visitations  were  then  much  more  common  than  they  are  at  present. 
This  difference  may  be  ascribed  in  some  measure,  to  the  want  of  ex- 
perience in  those  times,  or  to  a  great  deficiency  in  the  use  of  neces- 
sary precautions  with  regard  to  the  cleanliness  of  cities  and  towns, 
streets,  houses,  dress  and  burials.  Still,  it  would  be  neither  just  nor 
accurate  to  acknowledge  no  other  causes,  than  these,  of  the  calamities 
'which  befel  men  during  the  period  in  question,  and  thence  conclude 
a  total  absence  of  foresight  or  of  industry  ;  for,  very  frequently 
also,  they  originated  in  earthquakes,  inundations,  excessive  heat  or 
extreme  cold,  and  other  natural  effects  which  could  not  be  eitfeer  fore- 
seen or  prevented.  Merely  to  add  one  instance  more  to  tne  facts 
already  mentioned  (see  reign  of  Justin  I,  of  Mauritius,  etc.) :  we  learn 
from  the  Byzantine  historians,  that  in  the  year  763,  the  Euxfne  or 
Black  Sea,  (which  now  shows  almost  no  ice  even  in  the  dead  of.  win- 
ter), was  frozen,  throughout  a  considerable  part  of  its  extent  and 
during  the  space  of  four  months,  to  the  depth  of  forty-five  feet,  with 
thirty  feet  of  snow  on  the  surface;  in  the  following  summer,  a  mul- 
titude of  springs  and  rivers  were  dried  up  by  the  excess  and  duration 
of  the  heat.* 


REMARKS    ON    THE   CIVILIZATION;    ETC.    193 

A  more  general  and  more  lasting  calamity  than  the  disorder  of  sea- 
sons, was  that  occasioned  by  the  settlement  of  the  barbarian  tribes  in 
the  civilized  world.  Their  successive  invasions  and  incessant  war- 
fare necessarily  produced  great  confusion  in  the  laws,  customs  and 
manners  of  the  countries  which  they  occupied.  It  was  only  by  re- 
peated exertions,  and  after  a  lapse  of  many  years,  that  these  new 
states  were  enabled  distinctly  to  establish  their  respective  constitutions 
and  national  character.  Languages  too^by  the  continual  intercourse 
of  the  conquerors  and  the  vanquished,  became  singular  medleys  of 
Latin  and  Celtic  or  Gothic  words,  which  happening  to  undergo, 
during  the  course  of  ages,  various  alterations  or  improvements  pecu- 
liar to  each  clime  and  country,  gave  rise  to  the  principal  tongues  of 
Europe,  as  they  now  exist. 

One  of  the  most  pernicious  effects  of  the  invasion  of  the  barbarians, 
was  the  rapid  decline  of  literature,  arts  and  sciences,  wherever  those 
wild  conquerors  passed  or  settled.  Owing  to  their  almost  exclusive 
relish  for  war  and  plunder,  literary  and  scientific  monuments  disap- 
peared from  innumerable  places,  and  in  the  very  regions  where  for- 
merly belles-lettres  had  been  most  flourishing,  ignorance  began  to 
prevail,  not  however  to  such  an  extent  as  is  commonly  imagined. 
Even  at  the  epoch  which  preceded  the  revival  of  learning  under 
Charlemagne,  there  always  remained  much  of  useful  knowledge. 
The  vast  store  of  erudition  possessed  by  a  Venerable  Bede,  an  Alcuin, 
a  Deacon  Paul,  etc. ;  the  numerous  and  eminent  scholars  that  went 
forth  from  Ireland,  England,  Italy,  etc.  are  sufficient  vouchers  of  this 
truth.  Nay,  discoveries  were  made  in  those  times  of  confusion, 
which  would  have  done  honor  to  conspicuous  and  enlightened  ages; 
among  others,  the  invention  and  application  of  water-mills,  in  the 
year  555;  of  glass  windows  for  churches,  about  the  same  time;  silk 
manufactures,  in  551 ;  bells  in  churches,  towards  605 ;  organs,  in  660 ; 
the  Grecian  fire,  in  673 ;  computation  of  years  from  the  birth  of 
Christ,  first  proposed  by  Dionysius  Exiguus,  a  learned  monk  of  the 
sixth  century  and  adopted  in  742. 

Religion  was  the  chief,  or  rather  the  only  means  which  stemmed 
this  torrent  of  barbarism,  and  not  only  saved  letters  and  learning  from 
universal  shipwreck,  but  also  caused  the  wild  tribes,  whose  destruc- 
tive invasion  had  been  so  detrimental  to  them,  gradually  to  imbibe 
and  adopt  the  principles  of  civil  and  social  life.  It  was  not  to  be  ex- 
pected that  the  Goths,  Franks,  Lombards,  Saxons  and  Germans, 
would  ever  receive  those  principles  from  human  studies  which  they 

*  See  Cedrenus,  Zonaras,  Nicephorus,  and  especially  Theophanes,  a 
contemporary  author;  apud  Lebeau,  vol.  xm,  pp.  473 — 475. — See  also  A 
M.  SS.  C.  G.  Histoirc  du  JBas-Empire,  vol.  i,  p.  273 ;— Lenglet-Dufresnoy 
Tablettes  Chronologiques,  ad  ann.  763  ;  etc. 
17 


194  MODERN     HISTORY.  Part  III 

heartily  despised :  Christianity  alone  could,  and  really  did  lescue  them 
from  their  ignorance  and  barbarity.  As  it  was  already  established  in 
the  provinces  that  fell  under  their  power,  these  savage  tribes,  whose 
habits  of  plunder  and  revenge  could"  not  be  checked  by  force  of  arms, 
sooner  or  later  yielded  to  the  mild  precepts  of  the  gospel.  Their 
minds  and  hearts  became  attached  to  a  religion  which  did  not  teach 
them  only  by  speculative  maxims  and  didactic  precepts,  but  also  by 
examples,  festivals  and  rites  equally  moving  and  instructive. 

No  sooner  had  they  received  and  embraced  the  faith  of  Christ, 
than  they  began  to  lay  aside  the  rudeness  of  their  manners,  and  to 
establish  among  themselves  a  more  adequate  distribution  of  justice. 
By  the  enforcement  of  the  divine  law  concerning  the  indissolubility 
of  marriage,  there  resulted  an  immense  benefit  for  the  community  at 
large,  as  well  as  for  individuals  and  families.  Outrageous  acts,  which 
idolatrous  nations  had  considered  mere  trifles,  were  now  gradually 
suppressed.  A  stronger  barrier  was  opposed  to  human  passions; 
morals  became  more  pure,  nobler  feelings  animated  mankind,  milder 
customs  were  introduced;  and  these  salutary  effects  were  invariably 
in  proportion  to  the  degree  of  influence  which  religion  acquired  over 
the  minds  of  her  new  followers. 

"The  influence  of  Christianity,"  says  the  learned  Chancellor 
Kent,  "was  very  efficient  towards  the  introduction  of  a  better  and 
more  enlightened  sense  of  right  and  justice  among  the  governments  of 
Europe.  It  taught  the  duty  of  benevolence  to  strangers,  of  humanity 
to  the  vanquished,  of  the  obligation  of  good  faith,  and  the  enormity 
of  the  sin  of  murder,  revenge  and  rapacity.  The  history  of  Europe, 
during  the  early  periods  of  modern  history,  abounds  with  interesting 
and  strong  cases,  to  show  the  authority  of  the  Church  over  turbulent 
princes  and  fierce  warriors,  and  the  effects  of  that  authority  in  melio- 
rating manners,  checking  violence,  and  introducing  a  system  of  morals 
which  inculcated  peace,  moderation  and  justice."* 

Bishops,  priests  and  monks,  afterwards  so  much  calumniated  by 
an  ungrateful  posterity,  were  the  active  instruments  employed  by  Di- 
vine Providence  to  forward  these  various  improvements  in  their  re- 
spective countries.  It  was  from  episcopal  houses  and  monasteries 
that  crowds  of  holy  missionaries  went  forth  to  instruct,  convert  and 
civilize  the  fierce  barbarians  of  the  north.  Moreover,  the  superiors 
of  clerical  and  monastic  bodies  were  frequently  invested  by  Christian 
kings  and  emperors  with  civil  jurisdiction,  and  as  it  was  exercised  by 
them  in  a  more  equitable  manner  than  by  secular  magistrates,  men 
quickly  learned  to  prefer  their  decisions  to  the  hasty  judgments  ol 
warlike  and  ignorant  nobles.  This  accounts  for  the  great  portion  of 
temporal  authority  which  bishops  and  abbots  possessed  in  those  re- 

*  Commentaries  on  law,  vol.  j,  p.  10. 


REMARKS  ON  THE  CIVILIZATION^  ETC.       195 

mote  ages,  and  which  they  used  in  checking  the  arbitrary  vexations 
of  private  lords,  and  rendering  as  much  as  possible  the  various  classes 
of  the  people  partakers  of  the  general  advantages  of  society. 

The  zeal  of  the  clergy  and  monks,  preserved  also  not  only  the  sa- 
cred science  of  religion,  but  likewise  all  the  different  branches  of  use- 
ful learning.  Their  solicitude  was  industrious  in  discovering  and  col- 
lecting the  relics  of  ancient  literature,  and  many  persons  among  them 
daily  allotted  a  considerable  portion  of  their  time  to  the  humble  but 
useful  occupation  of  transcribing  old  manuscripts.  Others,  more  tit 
for  manual  labor,  actively  employed  themselves  in  clearing  forests, 
draining  marshes  and  fertilizing  barren  grounds.  Every  obstacle  pre- 
sented by  nature  or  the  soil,  was  overcome  by  their  unwearied  exer- 
tions, and  plentiful  crops  arose  where,  before,  naught  was  seen  but 
reeds  or  briars.  Thus,  while  the  lay  proprietors  reigned  in  solitary 
grandeur  over  their  wide  and  unfruitful  domains,  the  lands  originally 
bestowed  on  the  monks  and  clergy  by  the  gratitude,  confidence  and 
piety  of  their  contemporaries,  were  cultivated  and  improved ;  their 
houses  were  an  asylum  constantly  opened  to  the  poor,  the  infirm  and 
the  traveller;  their  villages  were  crowded  with  inhabitans,  and  the 
foundations  were  laid  of  several  among  the  principal  cities  in  Eng- 
land, Germany,  etc.* 

Still  greater  and  more  important  than  these,  were  the  benefits  con- 
ferred by  the  Sovereign  Pontiffs  upon  Europe  at  large,  and  all  Chris- 
tendom. This  will  be  the  subject  of  a  separate  dissertation  on  the 
popes  of  the  middle  ages. 

*  See  Lingard,  Antiquities  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  Church,  ch.  3,  4  and  10; — 
Bergier,  Dictionnaire  de  theologie,  art.  Moines,  Monasteres,  fyc. 


PART    IV. 


KHOM    THF    REVIVAL   OF   THE   WESTERN   EMPIRE    (A.   D.  800),   TO    THE 
BEGINNING  OF  THE   CRUSADES    (A.   D.    1095). 


CHARLEMAGNE,  EMPEROR.— A.  D.  300—814. 

CHARLEMAGNE  signalized  the  beginning  of  his  reign  as  emperor, 
by  redoubling  his  zeal  for  the  happiness  of  his  people.  Still  more 
than  ever  did  he  watch  over  the  different  parts  of  his  vast  monarchy, 
to  procure  in  all  a  speedy  redress  of  grievances  and  an  exact  admi 
nistration  of  justice.  As  to  the  command  of  armies,  he  now  left  it  to 
his  lieutenants  and  his  sons,  whom  he  had  so  well  trained  in  military 
science,  that  victory  followed  their  standards  on  almost  every  occa- 
sion, whether  in  Italy,  Germany  or  Spain.  The  Moors  or  Saracens 
experienced  by  new  defeats  the  superiority  of  French  discipline  and 
courage;  Bohemia  and  the  coasts  of  Venetia  were  added  to  the  em- 
pire; the  north-eastern  frontier  was  extended  to  the  shores  of  the 
Baltic,  and  the  Danes  were  taught  to  confine  themselves  to  taeir 
isles  and  their  peninsula  of  Jutland. 

These  new  and  brilliant  conquests  were  owing  chiefly  to  the  abili- 
ties of  Charles  and  Pepin,  the  two  eldest  sons  of  Charlemagne. 
With  delight  he  looked  upon  these  young  heroes  as  the  supporters 
of  his  empire  and  his  future  successors ;  but  he  had  the  misfortune 
to  see  both  of  them  die  in  the  flower  of  their  age  and  in  the  midst  of 
their  triumphs.  Not  permitting  however  the  sensibility  of  the  man 
and  the  grief  of  the  father  to  prevail  over  the  duty  and  firmness  of 
the  monarch,  he  did  not  abandon  or  neglect  the  cares  of  government, 
and  seemed  rather  to  be  more  active  in  improving  all  the  good  he 
had  already  done,  in  proportion  as  he  approached  the  end  of  his 
long  and  glorious  career.  In  fine,  after  having  filled  the  world  with 
the  renown  of  his  genius,  conquests  and  legislation;  after  having 
rendered  invaluable  services  to  religion  as  well  as  to  social  order,  and 
given  innumerable  examples  of  Christian  piety,  he  died  at  Aix-la- 
Chapelle,  on  the  28th  of  January  of  the  year  814,  thr  seventy 


A.  D.  boo-814.  CHARLEMAGNE;    EMPEROR.  197 

second  of  his  life,  the  forty-seventh  of  his  reign  as  king,  and  the 
fourteenth  of  his  reign  as  emperor. 

Never  was  there  a  monarch  greater  than  Charlemagne,  perhaps 
his  equal  never  existed,  the  epithet  great  being,  in  the  judgment 
and  language  of  posterity,  so  strictly  due  to  him,  that  it  constitutes  a 
part  of  his  name.*  He  had  a  mind  which  wonderfully  fitted  him  to 
rule  over  the  most  extensive  monarchy.  Vast  in  his  designs  and 
quick  in  their  execution,  going  incessantly  from  one  province  to 
another  wherever  his  presence  might  be  required,  from  Italy  to 
France,  and  from  the  Pyrenees  to  the  shores  of  the  German  Ocean, 
he  possessed  in  an  extraordinary  degree  the  uncommon  talent  of  per- 
forming the  greatest  things  with  promptness,  and  the  most  difficult 
with  facility.  His  laws  and  statutes,  commonly  known  under  the 
name  of  capitulars,  every  where  display  a  wonderful  sagacity,  antici- 
pating every  thing  in  point  of  duty  and  morality,  and  by  a  secret 
persuasive  influence,  leading  successfully  to  the  preservation  of  good 
order.  All  the  parts  of  the  empire  were  closely  united  by  his  mighty 
genius.  He  established  such  an  equilibrium  among  the  orders  of  the 
state,  that  they  counterbalanced  one  another,  and  were  constantly 
kept  under  his  control;  his  own  children,  two  of  whom  were  deco- 
rated with  the  title  of  king,  being  his  first  subjects,  the  instruments  of 
his  authority,  and  perfect  models  of  obedience.  In  fine,  he  always 
showed  himself  deeply  convinced  of  the  obligation  which  is  incum- 
bent on  every  sovereign  to  render  equal  and  prompt  justice  to  his 
subjects.  Besides  the  ordinary  judicial  tribunals  established  in  every 
part  of  his  kingdom,  even  in  his  own  palace ;  he  wished  his  atten- 
dants to  awake  him  at  any  hour  of  the  night,  to  hear  the  complaints 
of  injured  persons,  and  receive  the  petitions  of  such  as  appealed  to  him 
from  inferior  courts  of  justice.  Even  his  time  of  dressing  was  not  lost; 
he  spent  it  in  listening  to  the  different  reasons  which  the  parties  could 
adduce  in  their  favor.  Of  the  numbers  that  applied  to  him,  none 
could  ever  complain  of  having  been  unreasonably  denied  an  audience 
or  put  off  to  another  day — none  could  remark  any  alteration  in  his 
countenance,  or  perceive  any  uneasiness  in  his  gestures,  which  might 
indicate  impatience  and  weariness;  so  that  Charlemagne,  in  this 
respect,  as  in  others,  can  be  justly  proposed  as  an  excellent  model 
not  only  to  sovereigns,  but  likewise  to  judges,  governors  and  magis- 
trates, in  a  word,  to  all  those  who  have  any  share  in  the  exercise  of 
the  sovereign  authority. 

Not  less  just  than  powerful,  Charlemagne  never  provoked  the  bar- 
barian tribes  that  bordered  on  his  frontiers;  but  none  of  them  ever 
attacked  him  with  impunity.  Never  defeated,  when  commanding  in 

*  The  word  .Charlemagne  is  composed  of  Charles  and  magne,  m  Latin 
magnus,  which  signifies  great 
17* 


198  MODERN    HISTORY.  Part  JV 

person,  he  conquered  or  checked  all  his  enemies,  and  by  the  celerity 
and  precision  of  his  movements,  frequently  baffled  their  wisest 
measures  and  their  plans  of  confederacy,  before  they  could  suspect 
that  he  was  marching  against  them  at  the  head  of  his  armies. 

This  wonderful  sovereign  and  mighty  conqueror  was  also  one  ol 
the  most  learned  men  of  his  age.  Arithmetic,  astronomy,  rhetoric, 
logic,  even  biblical  criticism  and  theology,  were  sciences  familiar  to 
him.  Besides  the  Celtic,  his  native  tongue,  he  knew  Greek  and 
Latin  well;  and  being  naturally  possessed  of  great  eloquence,  he 
could  speak,  though  unprepared,  with  much  grace  and  facility  on 
almost  every  subject.* 

Nor  were  his  moral  and  Christian  qualities  inferior  to  his  military, 
political  and  literary  acquirements.  Except  perhaps  in  the  earlier 
part  of  his  life,  in  which  his  private  conduct  does  not  seem  to  have 
been  altogether  blameless,  he  gave  constant  marks  of  the  most  sincere 
piety,  profound  respect  for  the  Church,  exact  justice  towards  every 
one,  unwearied  beneficence,  and  unbounded  charity  towards  the  poor, 
the  widow  and  the  orphan.  These  and  other  distressed  persons  he 
assisted  not  only  in  his  own  dominions,  but  also  in  other  countries, 
sending  for  that  purpose  large  sums  of  money  to  Africa,  Egypt  and 
Syria.  Hence  there  is  no  exaggeration  in  the  remark  of  an  ancient 
author,f  that  his  death  produced  universal  grief  and  mourning,  par- 
ticularly among  his  subjects,  and  that  the  pagans  themselves  bewailed 
his  loss  as  that  of  the  father  of  mankind. 

What  must  increase  our  admiration  for  Charlemagne,  is  the  amia- 
ble simplicity  of  manners  which  appeared  in  all  his  ordinary  actions, 
and  which  was  still  more  remarkable  in  him  than  in  other  great  men. 
It  is  particularly  interesting  to  see  how  he  regulated  his  family.  His 
queen  attended  to  the  furniture  of  the  palace,  paid  the  wages  of  the 
officers  and  servants,  settled  the  daily  expenses  of  the  table,  and  pro- 
cured the  necessary  provisions.  He  watched  over  the  education  of 

*  What  we  here  say  of  the  eloquence  and  learning  of  Charlemagne,  is 
founded  on  the  unanimous  testimony  of  his  biographers  and  historians,  and 
is  consequently  of  unquestionable  authority.  Some  modern  writers,  how- 
ever, would  fain  make  us  believe,  from  a  certain  passage  of  Eginhard,  his 
chief  secretary,  that  he  did  not  know  how  to  write. — But  Eginhard  does 
not  say  this  exactly,  he  merely  states  that  Charlemagne  made  little  progress 
in  the  art  of  writing,  for  want  of  early  study  and  practice :  moreover,  we 
learn  from  other  sources,  that  this  prince  revised  several  manuscripts  and 
corrected  them  with  his  own  hand.  (See  .Annales  du  moyen  age,  vol.  vin, 
p.  471; — Hist,  de  I'Eglise  Gallicane,  vol.  iv,  p.  449;— Feller,  art.  Charle- 
magne, etc.)  All  that  can  be  inferred,  then,  from  the  words  of  his  secretary, 
is  that  he  did  not  know  how  to  write  with  that  haste  which  the  urgency  of 
affairs  frequently  demands,  nor  with  that  perfection  of  caligraphy  which 
was  then  required  in  manuscripts. 

t  Monach.  Engolism.;  see  Annales  du  moycn  age,vol.  vnr,  p.  353. 


A.  D.  800-814.       CHARLEMAGNE^    EMPEROR.  199 

his  children  with  so  great  assiduity  and  tenderness,  that  he  would 
never  sit  down  at  table  without  them,  nor  be  separated  from  them 
even  during  his  voyages.  He  managed  the  revenues  of  his  estates 
with  as  much  prudence  as  he  did  those  of  the  empire  itself,  took  care 
that  all  the  lands  should  be  diligently  cultivated,  and,  whilst  he  spent 
in  works  of  beneficence  the  immense  treasures  of  the  Lombards  and 
the  Avari,  he  commanded  his  farmers  to  sell  their  superfluous  fruits, 
vegetables,  and  other  such  things,  rather  than  commit  the  least  waste. 
In  his  ordinary  dress,  he  wore  no  other  coats  and  tunics  than  those 
prepared  by  the  persons  of  his  own  household. 

Charlemagne  however  knew  how  to  appear  with  majestic  dignity, 
and  could  display  great  magnificence,  whenever  he  was  obliged  to  act 
as  sovereign;  for  instance,  in  the  reception  of  foreign  ambassadors. 
Many  splendid  buildings  owed  to  him  their  existence  and  embel- 
lishments; among  others,  his  palace  of  Aix-la-Chape!le,  where  he 
usually  resided,  exhibited  all  that  architecture  and  art  could  effect  at 
that  time.  He  created  a  navy,  in  order  to  oppose  the  first  descents 
of  the  Normans,  those  famous  pirates  of  the  north.  In  fine,  it  was 
his  design  to  unite  the  Atlantic  with  the  Euxine  sea  by  a  canal  that 
would  have  reached  from  the  Rhine  to  the  Danube :  a  project  truly 
worthy  of  the  genius  of  Charlemagne,  but  the  execution  of  which 
exceeded  the  industry  of  his  contemporaries,  and  failed  for  want  of 
necessary  instruments  and  experience-* 

*  A  distinguished  French  historian  has  beautifully  described  the  charac- 
ter of  Charlemagne  in  these  words,  "Charlemagne  rdunit  dans  son  carac- 
lere  les  traits  les  plus  iiiagnifiq'.ics  de  grandeur,  de  sagesse  et  de  bravoure, 
avec  ce  que  la  pidte"  chreMienne  a  de  plus  solide  et  de  plus  dclatant.  Aussi 
grand  homme  que  grand  prince,  aussi  bon  pere  de  famillc  que  bon  roi,aussi 
sage  le*gislateur  clans  le  cabinet  que  general  vigilant  et  intrdpide  a  la  tete 
des  armies;  il  fut  encore  un  chrdtien  humble  et  fervent, qui  n'eutpas  moins 
de  zele  pour  faire  servir  Dieu,  qu'il  n'a*vait  d'autorit£  pour  se  faire  servir 
lui-meme.  Toujours  heureux  a  la  guerre,  il  aima  cependant  toujours  la 
paix.  Maitre  absolu  de  ses  peuples  il  mit  sa  gloire  a  en  etre  le  pere ;  et  il  cut 
le  plaisir  de  voir  qu'il  en  e*tait  aimd,  autant  qu'il  en  dtait  craint.  Restaura- 
teur des  beaux-arts  et  des  lettres  en  France,  il  fut  encore  le  bienfaiteur  le 
plus  liberal  aussi  bien  que  1'enfant  le  plus  soumis  de  l'e*glise;  ses  victaires 
furent  pour  elle  des  conquetes,  et  le  fruit  le  plus  doux  qu'il  recueillit  de 
tant  de  combats,  ce  fut  d'dtendre  le  royaume  de  Je'sus-Christ,  a  proportion 
qu'il  elendait  le  sien. — L'accusation  d'incontinence  est  la  seule  tache  qui 
pourrait  obscurcir  ses  vertus;  mais  il  n'est  pas  difficile  de  le  justifier  de  ce 

reproche Que  s'il  a  commis  quelque  faute  en  ce  genre,  il  en  aura  fait 

penitence  avant  sa  mort,  comme  nous  devons  le  prdsumer  de  la  piete* 
d'un  prince  si  religieux,  et  qui  par  mortification  portait  un  cilice  sous  ses 
habits.— En  un  mot,  Charlemagne  fut  le  he'ros  de  son  siecle,  le  protecteur 
le  plus  zdle"  de  la  religion,  le  plus  puissant  des  rois  qui  aient  gouvernd  la 
France,  et  1'un  des  plus  grands  princes  qui  aient  jamais  occupd  aucun  des 
divers  trones  de  1'univers.— F.  J.  Longucval,  Hisloire  de  VEglise  gallic.,  ad 
ann.  814. 


200  MODERN    HISTORY.  P"t  iv. 

LOUIS  THE  DEBONNAIRE  AND  HIS  SONS.— A.  D.  814—877. 

FEUDAL   SYSTEM. 

CHARLEMAGNE  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Louis, surnamed  the  Pious 
or  the  Dcbonnaire,  who  had  shown  until  then  much  wisdom  in  the 
government  of  Aquitania,  and  great  courage  in  his  expeditions 
against  the  Saracens  of  Spain.  His  virtues  indeed  accompanied  him 
to  the  throne;  but  his  talents  were  inadequate  to  this  new  and  much 
more  exalted  station.  Nearly  the  whole  of  his  reign  was  spent  in 
adopting  false  and  impolitic  measures  which  drew  contempt  upon  his 
authority,  and  the  most  humiliating  disasters  upon  his  person. 
Twice  he  was  outrageously  reviled  and  deposed  by  his  own  sons  and 
ministers,  and  twice  also  was  he  re-established  by  the  exertions  oi 
his  affectionate  subjects.  These  troubles  and  revolutions  greatly 
weakened  the  French  monarchy,  and  permitted  the  Saracens  on  one 
side,  and  the  Normans  on  the  other,  to  ravage  with  impunity  the 
coasts  of  Italy  and  France. 

Louis  died  in  840,  leaving  three  sons  who  divided  the  empire 
among  themselves.  France  was  allotted  to  Charles  the  Bald ;  Ger- 
many to  another  Louis;  and  Italy  to  Lothaire,  with  the  title  of  em- 
peror. This  last,  who  had  been  the  chief  promoter  of  the  late  dis- 
turbances and  rebellions  against  his  father,  undertook  also  to  deprive 
his  brothers  of  their  rights.  Charles  and  Louis,  not  being  able  to 
produce  a  change  in  his  sentiments,  united  their  forces  against  him, 
and  completely  defeated  him  in  the  fierce  battle  of  Fonjenay  near 
Auxerre,  which  cost  the  lives  of  a  hundred  thousand  men.  Lothaire 
fled  to  Aix-3a-Chapelle,  and  shortly  after  was  compelled  to  retire  into 
his  Italian  dominions:  but  the  conquerors  not  knowing  how  to  en- 
sure the  permanency  of  their  victory,  the  civil  war  still  continued  for 
a  time,  without  any  important  result,  except  a  waste  of  their  forces 
and  the  misery  of  their  subjects.  These  circumstances,  added  to  the 
continual  piracies  of  the  barbarians  on  all  sides,  more  and  more  de- 
based the  family  of  Charlemagne,  and  prepared  its  downfall. 

The  want  of  prudence  and  firmness  in  Charles  the  Bald  occasioned 
another  evil  which  proved  the  ruin  of  public  tranquillity,  particularly 
in  France.  Until  that  time,  the  presidency  and  government  of  pro- 
vinces, dukedoms  and  counties,  had  been  temporary  and  reversible 
charges;  but  towards  the  middle  of  the  ninth  century,  they  were  per 
mitted  to  become  hereditary  dignities,  transferable  from  father  to  son 
This  considerably  increased  the  power  of  their  possessors  to  the  det- 
riment of  the  royal  authority,  and  completed  the  organization  of  the 


A.  D.  800—8 


ARABIAN  AND  GREEK  EMPIRES.         201 


feudal  system,  or  compact  between  lords  and  vassals,,  which  was  foi 
several  centuries  the  basis  of  the  political  constitution  of  Western 
Europe  where  it  occasioned  innumerable  disturbances  and  civil  wars. 


ARABIAN  AND  GREEK  EMPIRES  DURING  THE  NINTH  CEN 
TURY.— A.  D.  800—886. 


NOT  dissimilar  to  the  empire  founded  by  Charlemagne,  was  that 
of  the  Arabs  in  Asia  and  Africa.  It  reached  the  summit  of  its  glory 
under  Aaron  Al-Raschid,  and  declined  under  his  successors,  none 
of  whom  displayed  abilities  equal  to  those  of  this  celebrated  caliph. 
He  waged  war  against  the  Greeks  with  uninterrupted  success,  and 
obliged  the  famous  empress  Irene,  and  after  her,  the  emperor  Nicepho- 
rus,  to  pay  him  a  heavy  tribute.  No  Mussulman  prince,  except  per- 
haps Caliph  Omar,  was  ever  more  absolute,  or  knew  better  how  to 
enforce  submission.  It  was  enough  for  him,  when  he  had  the  least 
suspicion  or  discontent  against  his  generals  and  governors  of  provinces, 
to  send  them  word  to  resign  their  offices;  the  order  obtained  imme- 
diate and  punctual  obedience. 

Aaron  sometimes  carried  his  severity  to  excess,  and  whilst,  on  one 
hand,  he  exercised  uncommon  liberality  and  beneficence,  he  is  said 
to  have,  on  the  other,  occasionally  set  aside  the  rights  of  equity  and 
gratitude,  in  order  to  indulge  his  ill-grounded  suspicions  and  capri- 
cious feelings.  He  is  however  styled  the  Just,  probably  for  some  re- 
markable acts  of  justice  that  he  performed,  or  for  the  just  protec- 
tion which  he  granted  to  literature,  arts  and  sciences.  In  effect,  he 
contributed  more  than  any  other  caliph,  to  raise  the  eastern  Mussul- 
mans from  the  state  of  ignorance  and  darkness  in  which  they  had 
been  so  long  buried.  He  assembled  in  his  court  of  Bagdad  learned 
men  of  every  class  and  country,  to  make  them  translate  into  Arab  or 
Syriac  books  on  philosophy  and  astronomy,  which  he  had  bought 
from  the  Christians;  in  return,  the  Arabs  communicated  to  Europe 
their  cyphers,  the  sciences  of  Algebra  and  Chemistry,  etc. 

Aaron-Al-Raschid  died  in  the  year  809,  after  a  prosperous  reign 
of  twenty-three  years.  The  Arabian  monarchy,  no  longer  supported 
by  his  vigorous  hand,  gradually  lost  the  strength  which  he  had  im- 
parted to  it ;  whereas  the  Greek  empire,  on  the  contrary,  began  to 
recover  from  the  heavy  losses  which  it  had  suffered  under  Nicephorus. 
This  wicked  emperor,  during  the  nine  years  (802—811)  that  he  occu- 
pied the  throne,  seemed  to  vie  with  foreign  enemies  in  harrassingand 
plundering  his  people.  The  end  of  his  reign  was  particularly  disas- 
trous. Having,  though  absolutely  destitute  of  talents,  the  highest 
idea  of  his  princely  abilities,  he  undertook  against  the  Bulgarians  au 


202  MODERN    HISTORY.  Partrv 

expedition  which  he  thought  would  be  decisive  and  sufficient  to 
avenge  all  previous  defeats.  Through  his  own  imprudence  and  te- 
merity, just  the  reverse  happened.  The  Bulgarians  shut  him  up 
with  his  numerous  troops  between  defiles  and  mountains,  and  made 
such  a  slaughter  of  them,  that  nearly  all  perished,  with  the  officers, 
the  generals,  and  the  emperor  himself.  His  head  was  cut  off,  by 
command  of  King  Crumnius,  and  the  dried  skull  afterwards  served 
as  a  cup  in  the  solemn  repasts  of  that  fierce  barbarian.  After  this, 
the  conquerors  poured  into  Thrace,  a  part  of  which  they  easily  con- 
quered under  the  short  reigns  of  Stauracius  and  Michael  Curopalates, 
and  even  advanced  so  far  as  to  threaten  the  capital. 

Such  was  the  alarming  state  of  the  empire  until  the  year  813, 
when  Leo  the  Armenian,  a  man  of  great  military  skill,  ascended 
the  throne.  He  had  no  sooner  assembled  an  army,  than  he  marched 
out  against  the  Bulgarians,  and  meeting  their  victorious  bands  near 
Constantinople,  came  to  a  bloody  engagement  with  them,  in  which 
he  was  on  the  point  of  being  defeated.  His  troops,  terrified  by  the 
multitude  and  fury  of  those  barbarians,  began  to  fly  in  great  disorder 
when  the  emperor,  perceiving  that  there  was  as  much  confusion  on 
the  side  of  the  conquerors  as  among  the  fugitives,  suddenly  rushed 
against  the  former  with  a  body  of  reserve,  and  stopped  them  by  the 
violence  of  the  attack.  This  revived  the  courage  of  his  own  soldiers, 
who  then  returned  to  the  field  of  battle,  and  enabled  Leo  to  obtain  a 
complete  victory.  The  next  campaign  (A.  D.  815)  was  still  more  suc- 
cessful. The  emperor  first  deceived  the  Bulgarians  by  feigning  to  re- 
tire at  their  approach,  and  when  he  knew  from  his  spies  that  they 
did  not  saspect  any  danger,  he  entered  their  camp  during  the  night, 
and  surprising  them  in  their  sleep,  put  them  all  to  the  sword.  Aftei 
this,  he  advanced  upon  their  territory,  and  laid  it  waste,  the  more 
easily,  as  he  experienced  but  a  slight-resistance  from  the  inhabitants, 
who  had  no  regular  troops  to  oppose  him.  So  great  was  their  loss 
on  this  occasion,  that  for  the  space  of  seventy  years  they  were  unable 
to  do,  or  afraid  to  attempt  any  thing  against  the  empire. 

Leo  spent  the  remainder  of  his  reign  in  persecuting  the  defenders 
of  images  with  great  violence,  and  conducting  the  affairs  of  the  state 
with  a  rigor  which  often  bordered  on  cruelty.  He  was  murdered  in 
the  year  820  by  the  partisans  of  Michael  surnamed  the  Stammerer, 
commander  of  the  guard,  who  was  then  confined  for  rebellion,  and 
whom  this  revolution  raised  from  the  prison  to  the  throne.  This  was 
exchanging  bad  for  worse;  for  Michael,  besides  being  a  cruel  perse- 
cutor like  Leo,  was  moreover  an  unskilful  and  profligate  prince  from 
whom  nothing  good  could  be  expected.  His  reign  of  nine  years,  in 
stead  of  doing  any  service  to  the  empire,  beheld  the  loss  of  the  rich  is- 
lands of  Crete  and  Sicily,  which  were  conquered  by  the  Mussulmans. 


A.  D.  800-886.  ARABIAN  AND  GREEK  EMPIRES.          203 

Under  Theophilus,  the  son  and  successor  of  Michael,  war  broke 
out  again  with  fresh  fury  between  the  Greeks  and  the  eastern  Sara- 
cens. After  many  undecisive  battles,  most  of  which  however  were 
fatal  to  the  Greeks,  Theophilus  undertook,  in  840,  to  repair  his  losses 
by  an  extraordinary  effort.  He  set  out  at  the  head  of  one  hundred 
thousand  men,  and,  after  overrunning  all  Syria,  laid  siege  to  Sozo- 
petra,  the  birth-place  of  Caliph  Mutasem.  The  Saracen  prince,  not 
having  had  time  to  assemble  his  forces,  wrote  to  the  emperor,  and 
earnestly  begged  him  to  spare  the  town  for  his  sake  j  but,  instead  of 
complying  with  the  request,  Theophilus  took  and  utterly  destroyed 
Sozopetra,  put  many  of  the  inhabitants  to  the  sword,  and  led  the 
others  into  captivity. 

This  conduct  filled  the  caliph  with  rage  and  an  insatiable  desire  of 
revenge.  He  raised  an  army  superior  in  numbers  to  any  that  had, 
for  a  long  time,  been  seen  among  the  Saracens,  and  caused  the  name 
of  Amorium  to  be  engraved  on  the  shields  of  all  his  soldiers,  to  signify 
that  his  object  was  the  destruction  of  this  city,  the  native  place  of 
Theophilus.  In  vain  did  the  emperor  supply  it  with  a  numerous 
garrison  composed  of  the  bravest  troops  and  officers  of  his  army;  in 
vain  did  they  oppose  so  heroic  a  resistance,  that  Mutasem  lost  seventy 
thousand  men  in  the  short  space  of  thirteen  days:  the  besiegers, 
having  been  informed  by  a  traitor  of  the  weakest  part  of  the  town, 
carried  it  by  storm  during  the  night,  and  reduced  it  to  ashes,  after 
having  made  a  dreadful  slaughter  of  the  garrison  and  inhabitants. 
Still,  thirty  thousand  soldiers  or  citizens,  were  preserved  alive,  to  be 
led  as  prisoners  into  Persia ;  but  many  of  them  perished  before  reach 
ing  that  country,  and  forty-two  officers  having  generously  resisted  all 
the  efforts  of  the  court  of  Bagdad  to  make  them  exchange  the  Chris- 
tian faith  for  the  religion  of  Mahomet,  were  put  to  death  after  seven 
years  of  confinement  and  sufferings. 

The  Emperor  Theophilus  had  died  some  time  before  (A.  D.  842), 
of  a  disease  the  progress  of  which  was  accelerated  by  his  grief  for 
the  loss  of  Amorium.  He  was  succeeded  by  his  son,  Michael  III,  a 
worthless  and  wretched  prince,  who,  after  enjoying  some  years  of 
prosperity  under  the  regency  of  his  virtuous  mother  Theodora,  threw 
himself  into  an  abyss  of  crimes  and  evils,  and  authorized  the  first 
separation  of  the  Greek  from  the  Latin  Church.  The  chief  author 
of  that  fatal  schism  was  Photius,  a  man  of  great  genius  and  learning, 
and  of  still  greater  ambition  and  wickedness.  By  his  intrigues, 
which  were  supported  by  a  vicious  court,  he  succeeded  in  invading 
the  patriarchal  see  of  Constantinople,  after  he  had  procured  the 
unjust  expulsion  of  the  lawful  patriarch  St.  Ignatius  (A.  D.  857). 
His  unparalleled  talent  for  dissimulation  and  imposture  enabled 
him,  likewise,  to  gain  over  to  his  party  many  of  the  principal  per 


204       •  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Part  IV 


sonages  in  the  Greek  Church  and  State;  but  all  his  cunning  failed 
with  regard  to  Pope  Nicolas  I,  in  whom  he  found  an  insuperable 
barrier  to  all  his  wicked  schemes. 

This  great  pontiff  not  only  refused  to  approve  of  the  irregular  pro- 
ceedings of  Photius,  but  even  pronounced  against  him  a  solemn  sen- 
tence of  excommunication.  Photius,  who  had  until  that  time  ac- 
knowledged without  difficulty  the  primacy  of  the  Apostolic  See, 
resolved  in  his  anger  to  separate  the  Church  of  Constantinople  from 
that  of  Rome.  He  took  the  bold  step  in  the  year  866,  and  endea- 
vored to  support  it  by  every  means  in  his  power,  especially  by  im- 
postures and  calumnies  of  the  most  outrageous  nature.  This  course 
of  violence  lasted,  it  is  true,  but  a  short  time,  because,  in  consequence 
of  a  new  revolution  which  happened  at  court,  Photius  was  expelled 
from  the  patriarchal  see,  and  solemnly  condemned  by  the  eighth  gene- 
ral council  held  in  869  at  Constantinople  for  the  reunion  of  the  two 
Churches  ;  still,  there  always  lurked  in  the  breasts  of  the  oriental 
bishops  a  leaven  of  jealousy  and  discord,  which  again  burst  forth  in 
the  eleventh  century,  and  completed  the  scliisin. 

The  new  revolution  just  mentioned  took  place  in  867,  when 
Michael  III,  whilst  meditating  the  death  of  Basil  the  Macedonian, 
his  associate  in  the  empire,  was  himself  killed  in  a  state  of  intoxica- 
tion, after  a  despicable  reign  of  twenty-five  years.  Basil  was,  by 
unanimous  consent,  acknowledged  sole  emperor,  and  showed  himself, 
notwithstanding  his  humble  birth,  more  worthy  of  this  high  prefer- 
ment than  all  his  predecessors  within  the  last  two  centuries.  Not 
less  attentive  to  save  the  citizens  from  oppression  than  to  defend  the 
state  from  foreign  foes,  whilst  he  gained  considerable  advantages  hi 
war  against  the  Saracens,  he  at  the  same  time  repressed  the  injus- 
tice of  magistrates  and  governors  wherever  he  could  detect  it,  as  well  in 
the  nearest  as  in  the  most  distant  provinces ;  himself  taking  the  greatest 
care  to  appoint  to  offices  of  trust  only-^jpright  and  virtuous  persons, 
men  neither  to  be  bribed  by  presents  nor  frightened  by  threats,  and 
wholly  bent  on  the  faithful  discharge  of  their  duties  in  favor  of  justice 
and  innocence.  In  order  to  banish  cupidity  from  all  tribunals,  he 
strictly  forbade  judges,  as  he  allowed  them  a  sufficient  stipend  from 
the  state  treasury,  to  receive  any  thing  from  either  of  the  contending 
parties,  under  any  pretence  whatever.  So  far  did  he  watch  over  the 
interests  of  poor  people,  when  attacked  before  the  courts  of  judica- 
ture by  some  rich  and  powerful  person,  that  he  even  established  a 
public  fund  to  enable  them  to  defend  their  cause,  and  support  them 
until  it  should  he  decided. 

The  vigilance  and  firmness  of  Basil  soon  restored  peace,  abundance 
and  security,  in  every  part  of  the  state.  Complaints  against  gover- 
nors and  magistrates,  which  were  very  common  before,  erased  so 


SPAIN;    ETC.  205 

completely,  that  the  emperor,  having  one  day  gone,  as  usual,  to  re' 
ceive  and  examine  the  petitions  which  might  be  presented  to  him, 
did  not  hear  of  a  single  grievance.  Fearing  lest  the  injured  persons 
might  have  been,  by  violence  or  treachery,  prevented  from  entering 
the  palace,  he  sent  confidential  officers  to  inquire  into  the  situation  of 
his  subjects.  After  diligent  research,  all  returned  and  assured  the 
emperor,  that  they  had  found  no  one  who  had  expressed  any  dissatis- 
faction ;  this  news  filled  Basil  with  extraordinary  joy  ;  he  shed  tears 
of  exultation,  and  gave  thanks  to  God  for  so  admirable  a  change.  On 
another  occasion,  having  been  informed  that  the  price  of  flour  had 
become  so  high  that  poor  people  were  almost  dying  with  starvation, 
he  directly  caused  all  his  granaries  to  be  opened,  and  the  wheat  to 
be  sold  at  one-twelfth  of  the  ordinary  price. 

This  excellent  emperor  died  in  886,  of  an  accident  that  happened 
to  him  in  the  chase.  A  strong  and  stately  stag,  rushing  by  him, 
caught  his  cincture,  and  dragged  him  from  his  horse;  before  assis- 
tance could  arrive,  the  animal  shook  him  so  violently,  that  a  fatal 
disease  ensued,  and  in  a  few  days  brought  him  to  the  grave.  He 
had  reigned  about  nineteen  years,  during  which,  by  constant  and 
successful  application  to  affairs,  he  infused  new  life  into  the  Greek 
empire.  His  glory  indeed  is  tarnished  by  the  share  which  he  took  in  the 
murder  of  bis  predecessor,  by  some  acts  of  inhumanity  towards  pri- 
soners taken  in  battle,  and  a  certain  pride  which  occasionally  betrayed 
him  in  to  wrong  measures;  still  the  great  number  of  his  illustrious  and 
generous  actions  has  justly  ranked  him  among  the  most  remarkable 
sovereigns  of  Constantinople.  His  descendants  occupied  the  throne 
for  nearly  two  centuries;  but.  none  of  them  was  equal  in  talent  and 
merit  to  the  founder  of  their  dynasty,  and  the  empire  fell  again  into 
the  state  of  weakness  and  debasement  from  which  it  had  been  rescued 
by  the  exertions  of  Basil. 


SPAIN  DURING  THE  NINTH  AND  TENTH  CENTURIES. 
A.  D.  800—998. 


ON  the  contrary,  the  increase  of  extent  and  power  of  the  new  king- 
dom formed  by  the  Christians  in  Spain,  became  from  that  epoch, 
peculiarly  remarkable.  Ever  since  their  first  endeavors,  under  Pela- 
gio  and  Alfonso  I,  to  struggle  against  the  fierce  invaders  of  their 
country,  they  almost  constantly  gained  new  advantages;  but  it  is 
chiefly  to  the  ninth  age  that  the  splendor  of  their  heroical  times  ought 
to  be  referred.  Their  noble  ardor  and  natural  bravery,  continually 
stimulated  by  obstacles,  rose  now  to  a  full  display  of  their  energiesn 
18 


206  MODERN  HISTORY.  Parl  n 

and,  whilst  the  Moors  began  to  be  enervated  by  a  long  possession  ot 
wealth  and  a  fine  climate,  thirst  after  glory  united  with  religious  zeal 
produced  among  the  Christians  uninterrupted  wonders  in  point  of 
courage  and  virtue. 

In  the  first  rank  of  great  and  conspicuous  men  who  flourished  at 
that  time,  must  be  placed  Kings  Alfonso  II  and  Ramirus  I,  both  of 
whom  conquered  the  Saracens  in  many  battles,  and  greatly  enlarged 
the  Christian  territory.  Still  more  brilliant  were  the  achievements  of 
Alfonso  III,  surnamed  the  Great,  during  his  long  reign  of  about  fifty 
years,  from  862  to  912.  He  first  employed  himself  in  vindicating 
his  rights  to  the  throne  against  different  competitors.  This  being 
accomplished,  he  attacked  the  Moors,  and  spreading  terror  among 
them  by  the  rapidity  of  his  marches,  so  often  overthrew  their  armies 
in  various  campaigns,  that  he  repeatedly  compelled  them  to  sue  for 
peace. 

He  was  obliged  to  desist  from  war  for  a  time,  in  order  to  suppress 
conspiracies  that  had  been  formed  against  him  in  his  own  family. 
Alfonso  quelled  them  all  by  his  activity  and  prudence,  but  dishonored 
himself  on  this  occasion  by  an  act  savoring-  more  of  cruelty  than 
of  justice.  Having  discovered  that  his  four  brothers  were  at  the  head 
of  one  of  these  conspiracies,  besides  confining  them  to  a  prison,  he 
caused  their  eyes  to  be  plucked  out:  a  sort  of  punishment  which, 
although  frequently  inflicted  at  that  period  on  state  criminals,  had 
in  itself,  especially  in  this  circumstance,  something  inhuman  and 
shocking. 

Alfonso,  being  thus  delivered  from  all  foreign  and  domestic  ene- 
mies, devoted  his  time  to  the  improvement  of  his  kingdom  of  Asturias 
and  Oviedo.  By  this  means,  he  regained  the  affection  of  his  people, 
but  not  that  of  his  family.  Whilst  a  new  war  with  the  Saracens 
was  affording  him  an  occasion  of  new  triumphs,  another  conspiracy 
at  home  recalled  him  from  the  pursuit  of  his  conquests,  and,  though 
opposed  by  this  warlike  prince,  at  first  with  some  success,  it  finally 
obliged  him  to  resign  the  sovereign  power  in  favor  of  his  two  sons 
(A.  D.  911).  Still,  he  requested  that  some  troops  should  be  left  to  his 
command,  to  go  and  attack  the  Moors  once  more  before  his  death. 
Having  obtained  his  request,  he  made  an  irruption  upon  their  terri- 
tory, and  returned  loaded  with  spoils.  This  was  the  last  of  his  ex- 
ploits. He  died  in  the  following  year,  after  a  reign  almost  continually 
agitated  both  by  domestic  dissensions  and  by  foreign  wars. 

Alfonso  the  Great  being  no  longer  on  the  throne,  the  success  of 
military  expeditions  was  sometimes  on  the  side  of  the  Christians, 
sometimes  on  that  of  the  Saracens,  and,  for  a  long  period,  nearly 
equal  on  both  sides.  In  the  year  921,  the  former  were  entirely 
defeated  at  Jonquera  by  the  Arabian  monarch  Abclerame  III;  but  in 


*.  D.  800-998.  SPAIN,     ETC.  207 

their  turn,  under  the  conduct  of  King  Ramirus  II,  they  gained  a 
complete  victory  at  Simancas,  in  939;  on  which  occasion  eighty 
thousand  Mussulmans  are  said  to  have  lost  their  lives.. 

This  bloody  defeat,  and  others  which  followed,  did  not  prevent 
Abderame  from  raising  his  kingdom  to  a  degree  of  prosperity  it 
probably  had  never  attained  before.  Being  a  skilful  politician  as 
weil  as  a  brave  general,  sometimes  victorious,  frequently  conquered, 
but  always  great,  whether  in  peace  or  war,  he  ever  knew  how  to 
improve  his  success  and  repair  his  losses.  Notwithstanding  the 
obstinate  warfare  in  which  he  was  engaged,  and  the  great  expenses 
he  must  have  incurred  to  support  his  armies,  he  displayed  at  court  a 
magnificence  which  would  appear  incredible,  were  it  not  unanimously 
testified  by  contemporary  historians.  His  palaces,  his  gardens,  and 
his  various  monuments  were  splendid.  Like  two  of  his  predecessors 
of  the  same  name,  and  even  more  than  they,  he  protected  the  arts 
and  sciences  ;  established  celebrated  schools,  especially  of  medicine ; 
attracted  to  his  court  the  ablest  physicians,  architects,  astronomers 
and  poets  of  his  age  and  nation  ;  and  rendered  Cordova,  his  capital, 
the  centre  of  industry  and  learning.  If  we  give  credit  to  Arabian 
authors,  this  city  contained  two  hundred  and  thirteen  thousand  houses, 
eighty-five  thousand  stores,  six  hundred  mosques,  nine  hundred 
public  baths,  seventy  libraries,  and  seventeen  large  institutions  for  the 
instruction  of  youth. 

Abderame,  having  the  reputation  of  a  great  love  of  justice,  and 
possessing  those  moral  qualities  which  may  absolutely  be  found  in  a 
false  religion,  went  through  a  long  reign,  in  a  manner  which  secured 
to  him  the  esteem  and  confidence  of  his  very  enemies.  But  nothing 
perhaps  BO  well  proves  the  greatness  and  superiority  of  his  mind,  as  the 
following  note  found  among  his  papers  after  his  death:  "  I  have  been 
caliph  for  fifty  years,  and  have  enjoyed  all  that  men  can  possibly 
desire  here  on  earth.  Being  desirous  to  know  the  number  of  the 
days  in  which,  during  this  long  space  of  time,  my  heart  was  truly 
satisfied,  I  found  it,  upon  exact  enumeration,  to  amount  to  fourteen 
only.  Mortals,  learn  from  me  how  to  appreciate  worldly  grandeur 
and  this  transitory  life." 

Abderame  III  died  in  961,  at  the  age  of  seventy-two  years.  The 
prosperous  effects  of  his  government  continued  to  be  telt  under  his 
first  successors,  owing  chiefly  to  the  exertions  of  their  prime-minister, 
Mahomet  Almanzor,  whose  fidelity  was  equal  to  his  courage,  and 
•who  always  remained  satisfied  with  an  inferior  rank,  although  he 
might  have  occupied  the  first  with  the  consent  of  his  nation.  This 
famous  warrior  invaded,  it  is  said,  fifty-two  times  the  Christian  ter- 
ritory, and  generally  returned  triumphant  and  loaded  with  booty. 

At  first,  he  met  with  an  invincible  opponent  in  the  person  of  Count 


208  MODERN    HISTORY. 

Fernando  Gonzales,  the  chief  founder  of  the  sovereignty  of  Castile, 
and  one  of  the  greatest  men  of  an  age  which  produced  in  Spain  so 
many  heroes.  Most  unfortunately  for  the  Christians,  Gonzales  died 
in  the  year  979,  twenty  years  before  Almanzor.  The  undaunted 
Moor  determined  then,  not  only  to  repair  his  late  defeats  by  new 
efforts  and  new  invasions,  but  also  to  effect,  if  possible,  the  final 
overthrow  of  the  Christians.  Although  they  sometimes  found  him  a 
generous  conqueror,  they  never  experienced  a  more  formidable  enemy. 
He  ravaged  their  dominions,  attacked  their  armies  separately,  and 
defeated  them  all,  notwithstanding  their  courageous  resistance. 

Of  all  his  victories,  the  most  splendid  and  glorious  was  that  which 
he  gained,  in  the  year  995,  over  King  Bermudes  II.  This  prince 
had  just  mustered  great  forces,  in  order  to  stem  the  destructive  tor- 
rent :  although  afflicted  with  the  gout  he  put  himself  at  their  head, 
and  from  his  litter  gave  the  signal  for  battle.  The  Christians,  ani- 
mated by  the  presence  of  their  sovereign,  and  by  the  consideration  of 
their  religion,  their  liberty  and  their  lives,  for  which  they  were  going 
to  fight,  attacked  the  Saracens  with  irresistible  fury,  routed  them  on 
all  sides,  and  obliged  them  to  flee  in  great  disorder.  Almanzor  did, 
on  that  occasion,  nearly  the  same  that  is  related  of  Julius  Caesar.* 
Dismounting  from  his  horse,  he  lay  upon  the  ground,  and  cried  out 
that  he  preferred  to  be  either  trodden  under  foot  by  the  fugitives  or 
slain  by  the  conquerors,  rather  than  outlive  his  glory.  The  sight  of 
this  great  man  in  such  imminent  danger  made  his  soldiers  ashamed 
of  abandoning  him,  and  inspired  them  with  fresh  courage.  Rallying 
.around  their  general,  they  rushed  with  him  against  the  pursuers, 
whom  the  anticipation  of  victory  had  rendered  too  confident;  the 
Christians  were  terrified  in  their  turn,  and  fled,  yielding  the  victory 
to  their  intrepid  and  obstinate  enemies. 

After  this,  Almanzor,  with  little  or  no  difficulty,  overran  the  whole 
country,  and  taking,  ransacking  or  burning  the  cities,  pursued  the 
vanquished  as  far  as  the  mountains  of  Asturias,  which  had  been  their 
first  asylum  nearly  three  hundred  years  before.  He  would  have  pro- 
bably carried  his  conquests  still  farther,  had  not  a  dreadful  plague 
broken  out  among  his  soldiers,  which  destroyed  a  considerable  part 
of  his  army  and  forced  him  to  retire  in  great  haste.  When  he  re- 
turned with  fresh  troops,  he  found  that  the  Christian  princes  of  the 
different  parts  of  Spain  had  now  united  their  forces  against  the  com- 
mon enemy.  They  stopped  his  victorious  march  at  Medina  Casli,  or 
Calacanasor,  in  Castile  (A.  D.  998).  The  battle,  upon  which  such 
great  interests  depended,  was  begun  with  equal  animosity  on  both 
sides,  and  lasted  the  whole  day.  The  following  morning,  the  Chris- 

•  In  the  battle  of  Munda  (Spain),  against  the  sons  of  Pompey  (u.  c.  45) 


A.  „.  800-1016.  ENGLAND,  ETC.  209 

tians  prepared  to  recommence  the  attack,  but  soon  perceived  that  the 
Moors  had  retreated;  Almanzor,  frightened  at  the  greatness  of  his 
loss,  which  amounted  to  one  hundred  thousand  men,  dismissed  his 
surviving  soldiers,  fled  in  despair  to  Medina,  and  there  put  an  end  to 
his  life  by  starvation. 

With  Mahomet  Almanzor  fell  the  splendor  of  the  Arabian  empire 
in  Spain.  His  death  was  soon  followed  by  a  series  of  feuds  and 
civil  wars  among  the  Arabs,  which  distracted  their  monarchy,  and 
dismembered  it  into  eight  or  nine  petty  kingdoms.  This  permitted 
the  Christians,  not  only  to  recover  entirely  from  their  recent  losses, 
but  even  to  found  and  solidly  establish  four  kingdoms  in  the  north  of 
the  peninsula,  viz.,  Leon  including  the  more  ancient  kingdom  of 
Asturias  and  Oviedo,  Navarre,  Arragon  and  Castile.  These  two, 
though  the  last  in  order  of  time,  soon  became  the  most  powerful  of 
the  four,  and  afterwards  formed  by  their  reunion  the  present  king- 
dom of  Spain. 


ENGLAND  DURING  THE  NINTH   AND   TENTH  CENTURIES 

'  A.  D.  800—1016. 


AMONG  the  states  of  modern  Europe,  none  experienced  during  the 
middle  ages  more  vicissitudes  and  revolutions  than  England.  Its  con- 
quest by  the  Anglo-Saxons,  and  the  establishment  of  the  Heptarchy, 
have  been  already  mentioned.  As  long  as  any  district  remained  in  the 
island,  that  might  be  easily  subdued,  the  Saxon  kings  lived  together 
in  harmony,  each  one  being  content  with  his  dominions,  or  extend- 
ing them  only  at  the  expense  of  their  common  foes.  Afterwards, 
they  turned  their  arms  against  one  another,  and,  by  mutually  weak- 
ening themselves,  gave  occasion  to  the  ruin  of  the  Heptarchy. 

Egbert,  the  apparent  heir  to  the  crown  of  Wessex,  had  been  first 
compelled  by  a  strong  party  to  leave  the  shores  of  England,  and  to 
take  refuge  at  the  court  of  Charlemagne.  He  served  three  years  in 
the  armies  of  that  emperor,  and  spent  the  period  of  his  exile  in  ac- 
quiring a  proficiency  in  the  science  of  war  and  of  government. 
Charles  spared  no  pains  in  improving  the  noble  and  promising  quali- 
ties of  the  British  prince,  and  in  every  important  transaction  wished 
to  have  him  near  his  person.  He  had  taken  him  along  in  his  last 
journey  to  Rome,  when  Egbert  was  informed  of  the  death  of  his 
competitor,  and  of  other  favorable  circumstances,  which  recalled  him 
to  his  native  country. 

The  royal  exile  lost  no  time,  but,  taking  leave  of  the  French  mo- 
narch, Who  loaded  him  with  marks  of  affection  and  esteem,  he 


210  MODERN    HISTORY.  Part  1V 

returned  to  England,  where  his  claim  was  unanimously  acknow 
ledged  by  the  West-Saxon  lords.  Being  crowned,  with  universal  ap- 
plause, king  of  Wessex  in  the  year  801,  he  devoted  the  commence- 
ment of  his  reign  to  the  cultivation  of  peace;  but,  from  the  time 
when  he  first  unsheathed  the  sword  against  the  Britons  of  Wales, 
each  succeeding  year  was  marked  by  new  victories  and  conquests. 
The  Britons  were  subdued ;  then  the  feeble  kingdoms  of  Essex, 
Kent,  and  others  shared  the  same  fate ;  and  before  830,  Egbert  had 
extended  his  authority  over  the  greater  part  of  the  island. 

Scarcely  however  had  he  attained  this  superiority  among  the  na- 
tive princes,  when  he  saw  himself  attacked  by  a  foreign  and  most 
dangerous  enemy.  At  this  period,  Denmark  was  the  birth-place  of 
a  race  of  men  who  spent  the  best  portion  of  their  lives  on  the  sea, 
either  because  they  were  compelled  to  leave  their  country  which 
was  too  thickly  inhabited,  or  because  they  preferred  the  fruits  of  ra- 
pine to  those  of  industry.  Whilst  the  Normans,  their  countrymen, 
laid  waste  the  coasts  of  France  and  Spain,  the  Danes  directed  their 
attempts  against  the  British  isles.  Their  first  descents,  it  is  true,  had 
no  great  effect,  and  produced  temporary  alarm,  rather  than  perma- 
nent uneasiness ;  but  towards  the  close  of  the  reign  of  Egbert,  the 
numbers  of  the  pirates  perpetually  increased,  and  their  visits  being 
annually  renewed,  took  a  much  more  alarming  aspect.  In  833,  Eg- 
bert himself  had  the  mortification  to  see  his  West-Saxons  defeated  by 
the  invaders.  Convinced  of  the  necessity  of  adopting  stronger  mea- 
sures, he  summoned  all  his  vassals  around  hi  TI,  and  waited  in  anxious 
suspense  for  the  next  descent  of  the  enemy :  success  crowned  his  ef- 
forts, and  a  decisive  though  bloody  victory  compelled  the  Danes  to 
take  refuge  in  their  ships.  This  was  the  last  exploit  of  Egbert,  who 
died  in  the  following  year  (A.  D.  836),  after  a  prosperous  reign  ot 
about  thirty-five  years. 

His  death,  and  the  pacific  disposition  of  his  son  Ethelwulf,  eYn- 
boldened  the  barbarians  to  renew  their  invasions.  Redoubled  exer- 
tions were  made,  on  the  one  side  for  the  attack,  and  on  the  other  for 
the  defence,  with  a  continual  alternation  of  success  and  misfortune 
At  last,  a  general  battle  was  fought  at  Okeley  (A.  D.  851),  in  which 
the  Danes  were  so  completely  overthrown,  that  their  loss  is  said  to 
have  been  greater  than  they  had  ever  sustained  in  any  age  or  country. 
They  appeared  to  be  disheartened  by  so  severe  a  defeat,  and  respected, 
'or  a  time,  the  shores  of  England.  But  their  loss  seemed  only  to 
urge  them  to  make  more  extensive  preparations  for  subsequent  at- 
tacks. After  the  death  of  Ethelwulf,  and  under  his  four  sons,  Ethel- 
bald,  Ethelbert,  Ethelred  and  Alfred,  all  of  whom  reigned  succes- 
sively, those  undaunted  pirates  renewed  their  efforts  and  inroncls  with 
fresh  and  incessant  fury.  In  spite  of  many  severe  losses  which  they 


A.  P.  800-1010.  ENGLAXD;    ETC.  211 

again  suffered,  they  returned  to  the  charge  so  often  and  so  repeatedly, 
as  finally  to  take  possession,  in  a  few  years,  of  a  great  part  of  the 
island. 

Such  was  the  state  of  Great  Britain,  when  Alfred,  the  last  of  the 
four  brothers  just  mentioned,  ascended  the  throne  in  871.  No  reign 
ever  commenced  with  more  unfavorable  auspices.  The  Saxon  prince 
had  scarcely  any  troops  to  oppose  the  invaders,  and  saw  himself  com- 
pelled to  enter  into  a  treaty  with  them,  by  which  he  was  left  in  pos- 
session of  Wessex  and  a  few  other  districts,  whilst  they  kept  the  bet- 
ter part  of  the  country  for  themselves.  Nor  even  did  this  arrange- 
ment last  long.  Repeated  attacks  of  the  Danes  forced  Alfred  to 
abandon  for  a  time  the  whole  of  his  dominions  to  their  rapacity,  and 
retire  into  a  small  island  situated  in  a  morass  between  two  rivers. 
Here  he  submitted  to  his  humble  lot  with  piety  and  resignation,  in 
hope  of  better  times.  Being  one  day  buried  in  deep  reflection  on  his 
misfortunes,  he  happened  to  let  some  cakes  burn,  which  the  wife  of 
the  herdsman  with  whom  he  lodged,  had  committed  to  his  care.  She 
reproached  him  severely,  telling  him  he  was  more  ready  to  eat  than 
to  earn  his  bread.  On  another  occasion,  the  pious  king  did  not  hesi- 
tate to  give  one-half  of  the  only  loaf  that  remained  in  the  place,  to  a 
poor  and  needy  traveller :  a  truly  charitable  action,  which  the  provi- 
dence of  God  shortly  afterwards  rewarded  by  the  arrival  of  a  large 
supply  of  provisions. 

In  the  meantime,  the  Danes  spread  terror  throughout  the  whole 
country,  which  they  plundered  and  laid  waste,  with  almost  no 
resistance.  However,  one  of  their  parties  was  entirely  defeated  in 
878,  by  the  earl  of  Devonshire,  who  killed  their  general  Ubbo  with 
twelve  hundred  of  his  followers.  This  revived  the  courage  of  the 
Saxons,  and  Alfred  having  now  quitted  his  retreat,  a  multitude  of 
brave  warriors  flocked  to  his  standard,  ready  to  shed  their  blood  for 
his  defence  and  the  independence  of  the  realm.  The  king  imme- 
diately marched  out  with  them  against  the  main  body  of  the  Danes, 
who,  on  their  side,  advanced  with  hasty  steps  to  meet  him  on  the 
field  of  battle. 

As  the  armies  approached,  they  uttered  shouts  of  mutual  defiance, 
and,  after  the  first  discharge  of  their  missile  weapons,  came  to  a  close 
and  sanguinary  engagement.  The  animosity  of  the  two  nations,  the 
efforts  of  their  leaders,  the  fluctuations  of  victory;  can  be  more  easily 
imagined  than  expressed.  The  Danes  displayed  a  valor  worthy  of 
their  former  renown;  the  Saxons  were  stimulated  by  honor,  shame, 
and  every  motive  that  can  influence  the  heart  of  man.  At  length, 
their  intrepidity  bore  down  all  opposition;  the  Northmen,  after  suf- 
fering a  tremendous  slaughter,  fled  to  their  camp,  where  being  pur- 
sued and  closely  surrounded,  they  consented  to  capitulate.  The 


212  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Part  IV. 


terms  imposed  on  them  by  the  conqueror  were,  that  they  should 
either  leave  the  island,  or  embrace  the  laws  of  Christianity ;  and  if 
they  became  Christians,  that  they  should  quit  the  kingdom  of  Wes- 
sex,  and  confine  themselves  to  their  former  settlements  in  other  parts 
of  England.  All  this  appears  to  have  been  at  the  time  faithfully 
executed. 

Alfred  being  now  in  a  state  of  comparative  tranquillity,  set  him- 
self about  repairing  the  damages  occasioned  by  war,  and  providing 
against  future  disasters.  The  army,  fortifications  and  navy  claimed 
his  first  care.  Bodies  of  regular  troops  were  organized  for  the  de- 
fence of  his  kingdom,  especially  along  the  coast ;  castles  were  built 
in  places  the  best  fitted  to  prevent  the  landing,  or  to  impede  the  pro- 
gress of  an  enemy ;  and  a  considerable  fleet  was  equipped,  which, 
within  a  few  years,  obtained  numerous  triumphs  over  the  pirates :  so 
that  Alfred  may  be  regarded  as  the  real  founder  of  the  naval  and 
military  glory  of  Great  Britain. 

He  next  turned  his  attention  to  the  improvement  and  civilization 
of  his  people.  In  order  to  check  the  spirit  of  disorder  and  anarchy 
which,  during  the  long  period  of  barbarian  invasion,  had  become 
prevalent  throughout  the  realm,  the  king  restored  and  enlarged  the 
salutary  institutions  of  his  predecessors,  and  from  ancient  statutes, 
composed  a  code  of  law  adapted  to  the  present  circumstances.  But, 
as  legislative  enactments  are  of  little  avail,  unless  well  observed  in 
the  community,  he  insured  their  execution  by  his  constant  vigilance 
and  firmness.  Particularly  attentive  to  the  proceedings  of  the  courts 
of  judicature,  he  frequently  revised  them  himself,  and  receiving  the 
appeals  of  all  injured  persons,  inflicted  severe  though  proportionate 
penalties  on  all  ignorant  or  iniquitous  judges.  This  seventy  pro- 
duced the  most  beneficial  result ;  magistrates  were  taught  to  become 
more  learned  and  more  conscientious  ;  whilst  murder,  theft  and  other 
crimes,  being  sure  to  meet  with  due  punishment,  were  rendered  as 
rare  as  they  had  been  common  before.  So  exact  was  the  observance 
of  the  laws,  that,  according  to  the  unanimous  assertion  of  English 
historians,  if  a  traveller  lost  his  purse  on  the  road,  he  would  the  next 
day  find  it  untouched;  and  some  relate  besides,  that  golden  bracelets 
having  been  suspended  on  the  higli  road,  nobody  ventured  to  steal  so 
valuable  an  object. 

Alfred  was  also  the  restorer  of  literature  and  learning,  which  had 
considerably  suffered  during  the  late  wars.  With  the  assistance  of 
distinguished  scholars  of  his  own  and  foreign  countries,  whom  he 
invited  to  his  court,  he  not  only  founded  the  university  of  Oxford,  but 
likewise  opened  schools  in  many  other  places  for  the  instruction  of  his 
subjects.  He  himself  gave  to  all  the  example  of  application  to  study, 
in  which  he  succeeded  so  well,  that  several  good  works  were  either 


x.  D.  800— 10 1C. 


ENGLAND,   ETC.  213 


composed,  or  translated  by  him  from  the  Latin  into  the  Saxon  tongue. 
Nor  were  these  the  only  services  that  Alfred  rendered  to  his  people. 
He  also  encouraged  agriculture,  commerce,  and  all  necessary  and  use- 
ful arts;  applying  himself  above  all  to  restore  the  salutary  influence 
of  religion,  and  to  revive  piety  around  him  both  by  word  and  exam- 
ple. In  fact,  the  domestic  life  of  this  admirable  prince  was  as 
well  regulated  as  his  public  conduct,  and  a  proper  management 
of  his  time  enabled  him  perfectly  to  fulfil  all  his  duties.  Each  day, 
he  gave  eight  hours  to  the  care  of  his  kingdom,  eight  to  study  and 
works  of  piety  or  charity,  and  the  other  eight  to  sleep  and  necessary 
recreation.  As  the  use  of  watches  and  clocks  as  we  have  them  at 
present,  was  not  yet  known,  he  employed,  for  the  division  of  the  day, 
six  wax  candles,  each  one  of  which  burnt  during  four  hours,  and  his 
chaplains  informed  him  when  it  was  extinguished. 

After  many  years  of  peace,  Alfred  was  attacked  by  those  same 
Normans,  who  had  so  long  and  so  often  desolated  the  coasts  of 
France.  He  opposed  them  with  superior  ability,  defeated  them  by 
land  and  sea,  and,  more  successful  than  the  French  kings,  delivered 
his  kingdom  from  those  adventurers.  Shortly  after,  he  died,  full  of 
glory  and  all  sorts  of  merits  (A.  D.  900),  having  lived  fifty-one,  and 
reigned  twenty-nine  years. 

With  the  name  of  Alfred  posterity  has  associated  the  epithet  of 
Great;  which  indeed  few  princes  have  equally  deserved  for  courage 
in  danger  and  wisdom  in  government.  Whilst  many  other  kings  of 
England  are  chiefly  known  in  history  by  their  actions  in  the  field  of 
battle,  it  is  the  praise  of  Alfred,  that  he  was  not  merely  a  warrior, 
but  also  the  patron  of  learning  and  the  legislator  of  his  people.  The 
celebrated  Henry  Spelman,  filled  with  a  sort  of  enthusiasm  at  the 
recollection  of  this  illustrious  king,  speaks  of  him  thus  :  "  O  Alfred, 
the  wonder  and  prodigy  of  all  ages!  If  we  reflect  on  his  piety,  we 
will  be  inclined  to  believe  that  he  always  lived  in  retirement  and  soli- 
tude; if  we  recollect  his  warlike  exploits,  we  will  judge  that  he  never 
departed  from  the  camps:  if  we  call  to  mind  his  learning  and  wri- 
tings, we  will  imagine  that  he  spent  his  whole  life  in  a  literary  insti- 
tution ;  if  we  direct  our  attention  to  his  wise  administration  and 
wholesome  laws,  it  will  seem  that  these  had  been  his  only  study  and 
employment."  * 

Alfred  was  succeeded  on  the  throne  by  his  son  Edward.  In  legis- 
lation and  literary  merit,  Edward  was  much  inferior  to  his  father; 
but  he  surpassed  him  in  the  magnitude  of  his  conquests.  During 
the  whole  of  his  reign  (900—924),  there  were  but  few  intervals  free 

*  See,  on  the  reign  and  qualifications  of  Alfred,  besides  civil  historians, 
a  vry  learned,  extensive  and  interesting  note  of  Alban  Butler,  in  his  Live* 
of  the  Saints,  under  the  28th  of  October. 


214  MODERN  HISTORY. 


Part  IV 


from  war  against  the  Danes.  He  gained  many  victories  over  them, 
and,  by  the  subjugation  of  various  provinces,  acquired  more  real 
power  than  had  ever  been  possessed  by  his  predecessors.  All  the 
tribes  from  Northumbria  to  the  channel  owned  his  sway;  the  kings 
of  the  Scots  and  the  princes  of  Wales  acknowledged  him  as  their 
lord,  or  paid  him  tribute ;  and  the  other  nations  in  the  island  eagerly 
solicited  his  friendship. 

Athelstan,  Edward's  eldest  son  and  successor  (924 — 940),  pursued 
the  same  line  of  policy.  By  his  unceasing  efforts,  the  influence  of 
the  British  and  Danish  chieftains  disappeared  in  England  during  the 
remainder  of  his  reign.  All  the  provinces  originally  subdued  and 
colonized  by  the  different  Saxon  tribes,  became  united  under  the  same 
crown;  and  the  celebrated  battle  of  Brunanburg  in  Northumbria 
(A.  D.  937),  confirmed  the  ascendency  of  Athelstan.  He  thus  completed 
the  work  commenced  by  his  forefathers,  and  to  him  chiefly  belongs 
the  glory  of  having  established  what  has  ever  since  been  called  the 
Kingdom  of  England. 

This  happy  state  of  Great  Britain  was  however  soon  disturbed  by 
new  storms,  more  furious  and  lasting  than  had  ever  been  experienced 
before.  After  a  few  short  reigns,  the  most  remarkable  of  which  was 
that  of  Edgar,  and  after  the  death  of  King  Edward  the  Martyr,  in 
978,  the  Danfs  reappeared  with  fresh  forces,  and  resumed  their  for- 
mer course  of  invasion.  So  furious  indeed,  and  so  persevering  were 
their  inroads  and  ravages,  that  for  many  years,  viz.  from  980  to 
1016,  England  presented  nothing  but  almost  uninterrupted  scenes  of 
devastation,  plunder,  bloodshed  and  all  kinds  of  misery. 


FRANCE  AND  GERMANY  IN  THE  TENTH  AND  ELEVENTH 
CENTURIES.— A.  D.  912—1024. 

SUCH  had  been  also,  for  a  long  time  the  case  with  France,  the  con- 
quest of  which  was  the  ambition  of  the  terrible  Normans.  Although 
repelled  with  great  loss  from  the  walls  of  Paris  in  886,  they  persevered 
in  their  course  of  piracy,  under  the  conduct  of  Rollo,  one  of  the 
greatest  warriors  of  that  iron-age.  At  length,  King  Charles  the  Sim- 
ple consented  to  give  up  to  them,  on  the  condition  of  vassalage, 
the  north  of  France,  which  thus  .became  their  permanent  property 
about  the  year  912,  and  took  from  them  the  name  of  Normandy. 
This  cession  proved  indeed  most  beneficial  to  the  kingdom,  and  to  the 
Normans  themselves,  who,  without  renouncing  their  warlike  spirit, 
abandoned  their  predatory  habits,  and  adopted  those  of  a  civilized 
and  Christian  life;  but  it  did  not  stop  the  decline  nor  prevent  the 
downfall  of  the  dynasty  of  Charlemagne.  The  same  year,  912,  be 


A.  D.  915^-1034.          FRANCE    AND   GERMANY.  215 

held  the  imperial  sceptre  pass  from  his  family  into  the  hands  of  the 
German  lords,  whilst  his  successors  on  the  French  throne,  for  want 
either  of  talent  and  firmness,  or  of  sufficient  authority,  were  little  re- 
spected in  their  own  dominions  and  residence.  The  kingdom  was 
shamefully  parcelled  out,  as  it  were,  between  themselves  and  the 
great  vassals  of  the  crown,  who,  being  frequently  more  powerful 
than  the  sovereign,  became  mere  nominal  subjects,  and,  refused  to 
obey  his  orders  when  they  appeared  to  conflict  with  their  supposed 
interest  or  their  caprice;  whereas  they  freely  waged  war  against  one 
another,  with  the  help  of  their  own  respective  subjects.* 

Such  was  the  wretched  condition  of  France  and  of  its  sovereigns 
during  the  tenth  century.  In  fine,  after  the  demise  of  Louis  V,  who 
died  without  issue,  the  French  lords  refused  to  acknowledge  as  his 
successor,  his  uncle  Charles,  duke  of  Lorraine,  who  had  lately  sub- 
mitted himself  in  the  quality  of  a  vassal,  to  the  German  emperor. 
They  offered  the  sceptre  to  Hugh-Capet,  duke  of  France,  as  being 
the  most  worthy  of  it  for  his  royal  qualities  and  the  great  power  he 
already  enjoyed  (A.  D.  987).  In  vain  did  Charles,  at  the  head  of  an 
army,  attempt  to  maintain  his  claims  to  the  throne;  Hugh,  having 
popular  favor  on  his  side,  baffled  all  his  measures  and  remained  in 
possession  of  the  sovereign  power. 

His  reign  lasted  nine  years,  the  greater  part  of  which  he  spent  in 
keeping  his  vassals  and  subjects  within  the  bounds  of  respect  and 
duty,  as  well  by  his  prudence  and  moderation,  as  by  multiplied  vic- 
tories. His  wisdom  still  more  appeared  in  his  successful  efforts  to 
establish  a  regular  mode  of  succession  to  the  throne :  instead  of  divi- 
ding the  kingdom  among  his  sons,  as  had  been  so  often  and  so  impru- 
dently done  before,  he,  with  the  consent  of  the  nation,  ordered  that 
Robert,  the  eldest,  should  be  his  only  successor.  The  like  was  done 
after  him  at  every  new  accession,  and  this  practice  became  one  of  the 
fundamental  laws  of  the  French  monarchy. 

The  case  was  just  the  reverse  in  Germany.  Ever  since  the  empire 
was  transferred  from  the  French  to  the  German  princes,  from  here- 
ditary it  had  become  elective.  The  sceptre  was  first  offered  to  Otho, 
duke  of  Saxony,  who  thought  proper,  on  account  of  his  advanced 
age,  to  decline  the  honor,  and  recommended  Conrad,  duke  of  Fran- 
conia,  though  his  personal  enemy,  to  the  choice  of  the  electors.f 

*  The  great  vassals  were  six  in  number,  viz.  the  three  dukes  of  Bur- 
gundy,  Normandy  and  France  properly  so  called ;  and  the  three  earls  of 
Flanders,  Champaigne  and  Toulouse. 

t  The  number  ci  the  electors  did  not  continue  always  the  same.  By  the 
Emperor  Charles  IV,  in  1356,  it  was  reduced  to  seven,  viz.,  the  arch- 
oishops  of  Mentz,  Triers  and  Cologne  ;  the  king  of  Bohemia,  the  duke  of 
Saxony,  the  count  Palatin,  and  the  marquis  of  Brandeburg:  to  whom  were 
subsequently  added  the  dukes  of  Hanover  and  Bavaria. 


216  MODERN    HISTORY.  Part  IV, 

Conrad  therefore  was  appointed,  and  reigned  seven  years  (912 — 919). 
When  he  found  himself  drawing  near  the  end  of  his  life,  he,  with 
equal  generosity,  proposed  for  his  successor,  Henry,  the  son  of  Otho, 
as  being  the  best  fitted  to  rule  the  state  in  those  turbulent  times. 

Henry,  surnamed  the  Fowler,  on  account  of  his  fondness  for  hunt- 
ing, was  in  truth  well  qualified  to  wear  a  crown,  and  fully  answered 
public  expectation.  He  delivered  Germany  from  the  ravages  of  the 
surrounding  tribes,  especially  those  of  the  Hungarians,  a  fierce  and 
warlike  people  of  Scythian  descent,  whose  only  delight  was  in  pillage 
and  destruction.  The  emperor  succeeded  in  uniting  all  the  German 
forces  against  them,  and  the  effect  of  this  reunion  was  the  entire  de- 
feat of  the  Hungarians  in  two  great  battles  fought  near  Mersburg 
(A.  D.  920  and  934),  in  one  of  which  they  lost  eighty  thousand,  and 
in  the  other  forty  thousand  men. 

Henry  was  endeavoring  at  the  same  time  to  promote,  by  every 
means  in  his  power,  the  safety  and  happiness  of  his  people.  He 
organized  a  militia,  inured  the  nobility  to  the  hardships  of  war,  for- 
tified the  towns,  rescued  the  country  from  banditti  and  robbers,  and 
took  proper  measures  to  extend  the  wholesome  influence  of  religion 
throughout  all  his  dominions.  The  wisdom  of  his  laws  against  vice 
and  disorder  was  not  less  conspicuous  than  the  multitude  of  his  ex- 
ploits against  foreign  enemies.  This  great  prince  died  in  936,  having 
lived  sixty  and  reigned  seventeen  years. 

Otho  I,  his  eldest  son,  was  chosen  to  succeed  him  in  the  empire, 
not  however  without  much  opposition  and  many  obstacles,  all  of 
which  he  overcame  by  his  prudence,  firmness  and  activity.  He  was 
equally  successful  in  different  wars  against  the  Bohemians,  the  Hun- 
garians, and  the  Italian  princes.  His  reign  lasted  thirty-seven  years, 
during  which  he  gave  such  proofs  of  unparalleled  magnificence, 
generosity,  valor,  wisdom,  religion  and  justice,  as  to  deserve,  not- 
withstanding some  failings  in  the  exercise  of  his  power,  the  praises 
of  impartial  posterity. 

After  him  the  German  throne  was  successively  occupied,  from  973 
to  1002,  by  his  son  and  grand-son,  both  of  the  same  name;  and  from 
1002  to  1024,  by  their  relative  Henry  II,  or  St.  Henry,  under  whom 
Germany  again  enjoyed  all  the  advantages  that  can  be  expected  from 
a  good,  wise  and  virtuous  sovereign.  Some  years  before  he  died,  he 
had  wished  to  renounce  all  earthly  grandeur,  and,  applying  to  Rich- 
ard, abbot  of  St.  Vannes  in  Lorraine,  begged  admittance  into  the 
monastery.  The  holy  abbot,  not  to  afflict  him  by  a  stern  denial, 
-eceived  his  vow  of  obedience,  but  immediately  commanded  him,  in 
virtue  of  it,  to  reassume  the  government  of  the  empire,  for  the  honor 
of  God  and  the  good  of  his  people;  to  which  the  pious  monarch 
humbly,  though  reluctantly,  submitted.  As  he  left  no  children,  the 


EASTERN    NATIONS.  217 

imperial  sceptre  passed  a  second  time  into  the  hands  of  the  Fran- 
coriian  dukes,  and,  after  a  few  reigns,  devolved  on  the  princes  of  the 
house  of  Suabia. 


EASTERN  NATIONS  IN  THE  TENTH  AND  ELEVENTH  CEN- 
TURIES.—A.  D.  960—1040. 


IN  the  meantime,  the  Greek  empire  had  shone  with  great  splen- 
dor under  three  successive  emperors,  Nicephorus  Phocas,  John 
Zimisces  and  Basil  II,  the  first  of  whom  began  to  reign  in  963.  He 
was  born  of  an  illustrious  family  in  Constantinople,  and  from  his 
youth  distinguished  himself  in  the  army.  Having  become  a  general, 
he  succeeded,  by  his  persevering  efforts  and  vigilance  united  with 
valor,  in  expelling  the  Saracens  from  the  important  island  of  Crete, 
of  which  they  had  been  masters  one  hundre4  and  thirty-five  years 
(A.  D.  960).  The  troops,  to  whom  he  was  much  endeared,  raised 
him  to  the  throne,  after  the  death  of  Romanus  II.  He  then  extended 
his  projects,  and,  attacking  the  Saracens  of  Asia  with  unrelenting 
vigor,  wrested  from  them  many  towns  and  several  provinces,  which 
he  reunited  to  the  empire. 

To  these  splendid  achievements,  the  zeal  of  Nicephorus  for  mili- 
tary discipline  contributed  as  much  as  his  personal  bravery.  He 
kept  his  soldiers  within  the  strict  bounds  of  duty  by  the  most  effica- 
cious of  all  means,  that  of  example:  claiming  for  himself  no  special 
exemption,  he  easily  induced  others  to  become  equally  patient  and 
courageous.  Unfortunately,  so  great  a  warrior,  the  terror  of  all  the  ene- 
mies around,  was  also,  by  his  avarice  and  exactions,  the  terror  of  his 
own  subjects.  Augmenting  the  taxes,  and  altering  the  coins,  he  seemed 
obstinately  resolved  to  make  all  the  riches  of  the  nation  pass  into  his 
coffers.  Hence  it  happened  that  many  officers,  even  among  those 
who  had  been  most  sincerely  attached  to  him,  being  now  exasperated 
by  his  injustice  and  tyranny,  secretly  conspired  against  his  life.  John 
Zimisces,  their  leader,  and  five  others,  were  introduced  during  the 
night  in  a  basket,  and  through  a  window,  into  the  apartment  in  which 
Nicephorus  was  asleep.  He  awoke  just  to  see  the  daggers  directed 
against  his  breast.  The  conspirators  dragged  him  from  his  couch, 
ar*l  stabbed  him  at  the  feet  of  Zimisces,  whom  they  proclaimed  em- 
peior  in  his  place  (A.  D.  969). 

If  heroic  fortitude  and  courage,  if  the  habitual  practice  of  mild- 
ness, justice,  generosity,  in  a  word,  of  all  public  and  private  virtues, 
ever  could  obliterate  a  crime,  this  lenity  should  be  extended  to  Zimis- 
ces, a  prince  undoubtedly  one  of  the  greatest  among  the  successors  of 
Constantino.  The  Greek  historians  seem  to  vie  with  each  other  in 
19 


218  MODERN    HISTORY. 


ParC 


bestowing  upon  him  the  highest  encomiums,  and  even  the  annals  of 
northern  nations  have  praised  this  illustrious  emperor,  who  stopped 
their  warlike  and  victorious  hordes.  For,  it  was  at  this  juncture  that 
a  formidable  army  of  Rossi  or  Russians,  having,  under  the  conduct 
of  their  duke  Wenceslas,  crossed  the  Danube,  made  an  irruption 
into  Bulgaria  and  Thrace,  which  they  ravaged  as  far  as  Adrianople. 
At  first,  Zimisces  sent  his  ablest  generals  against  them;  afterwards, 
marching  in  person,  he  expelled  the  invaders  from  the  towns  and 
fortresses  which  they  had  taken,  and  driving  all  their  detachments 
before  him,  at  length  forced  them  to  a  general  engagement,  near  the 
city  of  Dorostolis,  on  the  banks  of  the  Danube. 

The  multitude  and  natural  bravery  of  the  Russians  on  the  one 
side,  and  the  valor  and  skill  of  the  imperial  legions  on  the  other,  ren- 
dered this  battle  one  of  the  most  obstinate  and  terrible  in  the  annals 
of  war.  So  great  was  the  animosity  of  the  combatants,  that  the  ad- 
vantage is  said  to  have  successively  passed  from  one  army  to  the 
other  no  fewer  than  twelve  times.  The  contest  thus  raged  with  un- 
abated fury  from  morning  until  late  in  the  evening,  when  the  Rus- 
sians began  to  waver,  and  Zimisces,  redoubling  his  efforts,  gained  at 
last  a  complete  victory.  Three  or  four  more  battles,  fought  within  a 
short  lime,  saw  him  equally  victorious,  and  almost  destroyed  the  Rus- 
sian forces.  Being  now  deprived  of  all  resource,  the  remains  of  their 
army  came  to  the  determination  of  abandoning  all  their  designs  of  con- 
quest, and  of  retracing  their  steps  to  their  own  country.  But,  whilst 
they  were  retreating,  another  barbarous  trite  surprised  them  in  an  am- 
buscade, and  mercilessly  put  them  all  to  the  sword  (A.  D.  971). 

Zimisces,  on  the  contrary,  returned  in  triumph  to  Constantinople, 
where  he  was  received  with  extraordinary  joy  and  magnificence. 
Shortly  after,  he  marched  against  the  eastern  Saracens,  who  had 
availed  themselves  of  his  absence,  to  reconquer  many  places  in  Asia. 
The  arrival  of  Zimisces  once  more  changed  the  state  of  affairs: 
wherever  he  appeared,  towns  and  fortresses  were  either  compelled  by 
force  or  induced  by  promises  to  surrender.  When  he  returned  from 
this  glorious  expedition,  as  he  was  passing  through  a  tract  of  land 
extremely  rich,  beautiful,  and  adorned  with  palaces,  he  was  told  that 
all  these  belonged  to  his  minister  Basil.  "  Behold,"  he  exclaimed, 
"it  is  then  to  enrich  one  man,  that  the  state  is  exhausted,  that  the  ar- 
mies undergo  so  many  hardships  ;  that  soldiers,  officers,  emperors, 
expose  their  lives  and  shed  their  blood  in  battles!"  These  words 
were,  by  perfidious  friends,  related  to  the  minister,  who,  fearing  an 
inquiry  into  his  administration,  determined  to  avoid,  by  the  commis- 
sion of  an  atrocious  crime,  the  disgrace  with  which  he  was  threatened, 
and  bribed  the  cup-bearer  of  the  emperor  to  poison  this  excellent 
prince.  The  fatal  draught  being  tendered  and  taken,  Zimisces  felt 


*.  D.  960-1040. 


EASTERN  NATIONS.  219 


an  inward  lire,  which  soon  manifested  itself  outwardly  by  carbuncles 
and  a  vomiting  of  blood.  However,  the  sight  of  approaching  death 
did  not  terrify  his  great  soul  j  he  spent  his  last  days  in  preparing,  by 
confession  and  other  religious  exercises,  to  appear  before  the  tribunal 
of  God,  and,  after  forbidding  inquiries  to  be  made  about  the  author 
of  his  death,  terminated,  with  the  sentiments  of  an  humble  penitent, 
a  career  which,  with  the  exception  of  one  day,  had  been  that  of  a 
Christian  hero  (A.  D.  975). 

After  him,  the  throne  was  filled  by  two  brothers  and  descendants 
of  Basil  the  Macedonian,  Basil  II  and  Constantine  VIII.  They 
reigned  together,  and  equally  enjoyed  the  honors  of  the  purple  j  but 
the  exercise  of  the  supreme  authority  was  left  entirely  to  Basil,  who 
far  surpassed  his  brother  in  genius,  ability,  and  application  to  public 
affairs.  He  skilfully  extricated  himself  from  various  rebellions  and 
civil  wars  excited  in  the  beginning  of  his  reign  by  some  discontented 
generals.  He  then  directed  all  his  energies  against  the  Bulgarians, 
who  had  been  so  long  a  match  for  the  empire.  *  Their  courageous 
resistance  protracted  the  war  probably  much  longer  than  had  been 
anticipated,  and  a  series  of  continual  attacks  and  bloody  engagements 
was  hardly  sufficient  to  subdue  that  nation  and  its  leaders,  who  de- 
fended themselves  with  truly  heroic  fortitude;  but  so  obstinately,  and, 
it  may  be  said,  so  cruelly  bent  was  Basil  on  the  entire  reduction  of 
Bulgaria,  that  it  finally  passed  under  his  sway,  with  all  the  treasures 
which  the  Bulgarians  had  amassed  during  three  hundred  years,  by 
war  and  pillage. 

In  the  East  also,  Basil  extended  considerably  the  boundaries  of 
the  empire.  Even  age  could  not  extinguish  his  martial  spirit;  and 
he  was  actually  preparing  for  an  expedition  against  the  Saracens  of 
Sicily,  when  a  violent  fever  carried  him  off  in  the  sixty-eighth  year 
of  his  life,  and  the  fifty-first  of  his  reign  (A.  D.  1025).  This  long  in- 
terval  had  indeed  been  illustrated  by  many  successful  wars  and  by  a 
firm  administration ;  but  unfortunately,  Basil  II  did  not  know  how- 
to  win  the  affection  and  esteem  of  his  subjects.  Whilst  his  armies 
were  every  where  victorious,  the  people  were  groaning  under  heavy- 
taxes,  and  religion  and  humanity  often  condemned  the  actions  of  the 
monarch.  The  fifty  years  immediately  following  his  decease  beheld 
the  rapid  succession  of  fifteen  emperors,  most  of  them  unworthy  of 
notice. 

In  the  meantime,  the  vast  monarchy  founded  by  the  Arabs  had 
been  going  to  decay.  The  indolence  of  the  caliph  of  Bagdad  en- 
couraged the  ambition  of  the  different  governors  of  provinces  to 
withdraw  their  allegiance  from  him,  and  to  proclaim  their  indepen- 
dence. In  this  manner  were  Africa  and  Persia  gradually  severed  from 
(he  sway  of  the  Abassides.  Towards  the  end  of  the  tenth  century, 


220  MODERN    HISTORY.  Pan  IT 

they  lost  also  Palestine  and  Egypt,  where  the  Fatimiles  (real  or  pre- 
tended descendants  of  Fatima,  a  daughter  of  Mahomet)  established 
their  domination,  under  the  venerated  title  of  caliphs  (A.  D.  972). 

Against  these  and  other  invaders,  the  caliphs  of  Bagdad  called  to 
their  assistance  some  of  the  Turkish  tribes  stationed  in  the  neighbor- 
nood  of  the  Caspian  sea;  tribes  famous  for  their  exploits  under  thehr 
leader  Seldjuk.  At  first,  the  caliphs  had  reason  to  applaud  them- 
selves for  this  measure.  Those  warlike  tribes  fought  with  great 
ralor  and  success  against  the  enemies  of  the  reigning  dynasty,  and 
re-established  its  authority  in  several  provinces  j  but,  towards  the  year 
1040,  they  began  to  make  conquests  for  themselves.  Animated  by 
the  favorable  result  of  their  first  attempts,  they  spread  their  wander- 
ing hordes  over  Mesopotamia,  Syria,  Palestine  and  Asia  Minoy,  and, 
defeating  the  Greek  emperor  Romanus  Diogenes  in  a  great  battle, 
took  possession  of  those  rich  countries,  which  formed  the  renowned 
though  short-lived  empire  of  the  Seljukian  Turks.  In  a  few  years, 
Iconium,  Jerusalem,  Antioch,  Tarsus  and  Nicea  were  subdued  by 
them,  and  remained  in  their  power  until  the  time  of  the  Crusades. 


IRELAND,  PARTICULARLY  DURING  THE  TENTH  AND 
ELEVENTH  CENTURIES.— A.  p.  965—1014. 


RETURNING  to  the  history  of  western  Europe,  we  shall  here  speak 
exclusively  of  Ireland,  and  by  retracing  for  a  moment  our  steps  to 
more  remote  ages,  we  will  place  together  before  the  eyes  of  our 
readers,  the  chief  events  which  then  distinguished  this  interesting 
portion  of  the  world. 

The  origin  of  the  Irish  as  a  distinct  nation  is  generally  referred  to 
a  very  high  antiquity.  During  a  long  lapse  of  centuries,  both  before 
and  after  the  coming  of  Christ,  they  were  governed  by  kings,  one  of 
whom,  called  the  king  of  Tara,  was  considered  as  the  supreme  ruler 
of  the  island.  The  subordinate  princes  who  reigned  in  the  four  great 
provinces  of  Ulster,  X»einster,  Munster  and  Connaught,  were  obliged 
to  pay  a  tribute  to  that  monarch,  as  a  sign  of  inferiority ;  but,  in  seve- 
ral cases,  they  endeavored  to  render  it  a  merely  nominal  subjection, 
whilst,  in  other  respects,  they  were  by  right  absolutely  independent 
in  their  own  respective  kingdoms.  Thus  the  government  was  really 
pentarchical ;  a  government  which,  though  possessing  several  advan- 
tages, was  calculated  to  create  and  foster  a  spirit  of  disunion,  as  ex- 
perience too  often  fatally  showed  in  the  course  of  ages. 

In  the  fifth  century  after  the  coming  of  our  Lord,  Ireland  was  con- 
verted to  Christianity  by  the  great  St.  Patrick.  This  truly  apostolic 


4,  D.  «8»-loi4.  IRELAND.  221 

man  had  the  satisfaction  of  baptizing  an  incredible  multitude  of  pagans, 
who  hastened,  at  his  call,  to  exchange  their  heathenish  superstitions 
for  the  pure  precepts  of  the  Gospel.  "  While,  in  other  countries," 
says  Moore,  "the  introduction  of  Christianity  has  been  the  slow  work 
of  time  ...  in  Ireland,  on  the  contrary,  by  the  influence  of  one  hum- 
ble  but  zealous  missionary,  and  with  but  little  previous  preparation 
of  the  soil  by  other  hands,  Christianity  burst  forth  at  the  first  ray  of 
apostolic  light,  and,  with  the  sudden  ripeness  of  a  northern  summer, 
at  once  covered  the  whole  land,"*  Churches  arose  everywhere; 
schools  and  monasteries  were  founded,  in  which  science  and  exalted 
virtue  continued  long  to  flourish.  Such  was  indeed  the  renown  of 
Ireland  for  sanctity  and  learning,  that,  by  common  consent,  she  received 
the  glorious  title  of  " the  island  of  saints;"  foreigners  flocked  to  her 
shores  to  be  instructed  in  religion  and  letters,  and  a  residence  in  Ire- 
land was  considered  as  almost  essential  to  establish  a  literary  character. 
Not  content  with  affording  an  asylum  to  those  strangers  at  home,  the 
sons  of  Hibernia  crossed  the  seas  to  diffuse  the  same  blessings  abroad  j 
all  the  neighboring  nations,  England,  France,  Germany  and  Switz- 
erland, profited  by  the  zeal  and  learning  of  Irish  missionaries,  and 
the  most  celebrated  nurseries  of  science  in  those  remote  ages  were 
founded  or  improved  by  Irish  scholars. 

At  the  close  of  the  eighth  century,  Ireland  began  to  be  infested  by 
the  Danes,  those  terrible  Northmen,  who,  for  above  two  hundred 
years,  proved  so  formidable  to  several  nations  of  Europe.  Here,  as 
clsewhece,  ruin  and  desolation  marked  the  progress  of  these  invaders: 
the  country  was  ravaged;  churches,  monasteries  and  universities 
were  plundered  and  destroyed.  From  time  to  time,  it  is  true,  the 
Danes  were  boldly  attacked  and  defeated ;  but  fresh  swarms  succeeded, 
and  committed  new  outrages  and  depredations  throughout  the  island. 
Thus  fortune  was  alternately  propitious,  tilljthe  reign  of  Brian  Boru, 
who  came  to  the  throne  of  Munster  in  965.  This  gallant  hero  soon, 
compelled  the  enemies  of  his  country  to  flee  before  him.  In  970,  he 
attacked  Limerick,  of  which  they  had  become  masters,  drove  them 
from  this  post,  and  pursuing  his  advantage,  gained  over  them  from 
twenty-five  to  thirty  pitched  battles. 

Success  so  brilliant  and  uninterrupted,  united  with  truly  royal 
qualities,  prudence,  valor,  magnanimity  and  patriotism,  elevated  the 
king  of  Munster  to  the  higher  station  of  monarch  of  Tara.  Some 
years  after  his  elevation,  he  was  again  summoned  to  the  field  by  a 
new  and  formidable  attack  of  the  Danes.  Regardless  of  his  advanced 
age,  he  resolutely  marched  at  the  bend  of  thirty  thousand  warriors 
jgainst  his  undaunted  foes,  and  attacked  them  in  the  plains  of  Clon- 

*  Hislory  of  Ireland,  p.  110. 

19* 


222  MODERN    HISTORY.  Part  IV 

tarf,  on  the  23d  of  April  (A.  D.  1014).  The  battle  lasted  from  e?gh 
in  the  morning  till  four  in  the  afternoon,  with  a  display  of  almost 
superhuman  courage  on  both  sides.  It  raged  most  fiercely  around 
the  chiefs  of  either  party,  numbers  of  whom  perished  in  this  memo- 
rable action,  among  others,  Brian's  heroic  son,  Morrough,  who, 
daring  the  whole  conflict,  had  performed  prodigies  of  Valor  j  Brian 
himself  was  slain  in  his  tent  after  the  battle,  by  a  fugitive  Dane. 
Notwithstanding  these  losses  of  the  Irish,  their  victory  was  complete, 
and  the  Danes  were  driven  from  the  field  with  immense  slaughter. 

The  battle  of  Clontarf  gave  the  deathblow  to  the  power  of  the 
Northmen  in  Ireland.  Of  the  survivors,  some  bade  an  eternal  fare- 
well to  the  country ;  others  submitted  to  the  government  which  they 
had  in  vain  endeavored  to  subvert,  and  the  remainder,  few  in  number, 
mingling  with  the  mass  of  the  population,  gradually  disappeared  as 
a  distinct  people.  Thus  was  Ireland,  through  her  own  persevering 
efforts,  entirely  freed  from  those  terrible  and  obstinate  invaders;  an 
event  so  much  the  more  glorious,  as  this  very  period  witnessed  their 
success  in  England,  of  which  they  made  themselves  masters,  and 
over  which,  during  three  successive  reigns,  they  ruled  with  absolute 
sway. 


DANISH  KINGS  IN  ENGLAND-SAXON  LINE  RESTORED 
A.  D.  1016—1066. 


THE  bloody  struggle  of  the  Anglo-Saxons  against  the  Danes,  their 
obstinate  enemies,  had  now  lasted  two  hundred  years,  when  Edmund, 
surnamed  Ironside  (from  his  great  bodily  strength),  came  to  the 
throne  of  England  in  1016.  This  prince  seemed  destined  to  restore 
the  independence  of  his  country,  having,  within  the  short  space  of 
six  months,  fought  no  fewer  than  five  battles,  and  gained  nearly  as 
many  victories  over  the  Danish  King  Canute.  But  having  been, 
through  the  perfidy  or  cowardice  of  a  certain  Count  Edric,  entirely 
defeated  in  the  fifth  battle,  the  noblemen  of  both  parties,  equally  tired 
oi  this  sanguinary  warfare,  obliged  their  sovereigns  to  come  to  a  com- 
promise, and  divide  the  kingdom  among  themselves.  Edmund  died 
within  a  month  after  this  treaty  of  pacification,  and  left  Canute  in 
possession  of  all  England. 

The  Saxons  had  no  reason  to  repent  for  submitting  to  this  foreign 
prince.  No  sooner  did  Canute  see  himself  secure  on  the  throne, 
than  he  became,  from  a  turbulent  warrior,  a  just  and  beneficenf 
monarch.  He  often  lamented  the  bloodshed  and  misery  which  the 
Danish  war  had  inflicted  on  the  natives,  and  considered  it  his  bounden 


A.  D.  1016-1066.  DANISH  KINGS  IN  ENGLAND,  ETC.    223 

duty  to  compensate  their  sufferings  by  a  mild  and  equitable  adminis- 
tration. He  always  treated  them  with  kindness,  and,  placing  the  two 
nations  on  a  footing  of  equality,  admitted  them  alike  to  offices  of  trust 
and  emolument.  By  this  means,  he  won  the  affection  of  all,  even 
of  his  English  subjects ;  whilst  he  also  gained  their  admiration  and 
esteem  by  his  Christian  virtues  and  sincere  piety,  of  which  he  gave 
a  striking  proof  on  the  following  occasion : 

Being  one  day  near  the  sea-shore,  his  courtiers,  to  flatter  him,  said 
that  he  was  the  king  of  kings,  the  master  of  both  earth  and  sea. 
Canute  took  this  opportunity  to  show  how  much  he  despised  theii 
foolish  flattery.  Sitting  down,  and  addressing  himself  to  the  tide* 
which  was  advancing:  "I  am  thy  master,"  he  exclaimed;  "mine 
also  is  the  earth :  I  command  thee,  therefore,  to  stay  where  thou  art, 
and  not  to  move  farther  and  wet  my  feet."  All  present  thought  the 
king  mad,  to  imagine  that  the  sea  was  going  to  obey  his  orders:  it 
continued  to  advance,  and  at  length  came  to  the  feet  of  the  monarch. 
Turning  to  his  flatterers,  he  said :  "You  see  how  far  I  am  from  being 
the  master  of  all  things.  Learn  hence  that  the  power  of  kings  is 
very  inconsiderable.  There  is  indeed  no  other  king  than  Almighty 
God,  by  whom  alone  the  heavens,  the  earth  and  the  sea  are 
governed."  He  rose  at  these  words,  went  to  the  church  of  Win- 
chester, and  taking  the  crown  from  his  head,  placed  it  on  the  great 
crucifix  in  the  cathedral,  and  never  more  wore  it  even  at  public 
ceremonies. 

Canute  was  king  not  only  of  England,  but  of  Denmark  also,  and 
moreover  acquired  and  exercised  a-  sort  of  of  jurisdiction  over  the 
Norwegians,  the  Swedes,  the  Welsh  and  the  Scots.  This  vast  extent 
of  dominion  rendered  him  one  of  the  mightiest  monarchs  in  Europe, 
whilst  his  truly  royal  qualities  gained  him  universal  respect  from  fo- 
reign princes.  He  died  after  a  glorious  reign  of  eighteen  years 
(A.  D.  1035).  His  kingdoms  were  divided  among  his  three  sons,  two 
of  whom  successively  reigned  in  England,  namely,  Harold  and  Har- 
dicanute.  After  their  death,  the  English  having  determined  to  restore 
the  Saxon  line  of  their  monarchs,  Edward,  a  brother  to  Edmund 
Ironside,  was  recalled  from  Normandy  where  he  had  spent  many 
years  in  exile,  and  with  general  applause,  ascended  the  throne  of  his 
f-uhors  (A.  D.  1040). 

If  we  estimate,  as  D.  Lingard  observes,  the  character  of  a  sove- 
reign by  the  test  of  popular  affection,  we  must  rank  Edward  among 
the  bost  of  princes.  Whilst  alive,  the  goodness  of  his  heart,  which 
he  had  improved  in  the  time  of  banishment,  was  adored  by  his  sub- 
jects ;  and,  after  death,  his  memory  was  bequeathed  as  an  object  of 
veneration  to  posterity.  The  blessings  of  his  reign  are  the  constant 
iherne  of  ancient  English  writers;  not  that  he  displayed  any  of  those 


224  MODERN    HISTORY.  Part  t> 

brilliant  qualities  which  attract  the  admiration  of  the  world,  while 
they  inflict  misery  on  the  human  race:  but  he  exhibited  the  interest- 
ing spectacle  of  a  king  negligent  of  his  private  interests,  and  totally 
devoted  to  the  welfare  of  his  people.  To  ward  off  foreign  agression 
and  restore  the  dominion  of  laws,  to  preserve  peace  and  promote 
religion,  were  the  constant  objects  of  his  solicitude.  He  was  pious, 
kind  and  compassionate,  the  protector  of  the  weak,  and  the  father  of 
the  poor;  more  willing  to  give  than  to  receive;  more  inclined  to  pardon 
than  to  punish,  and  better  pleased  to  bestow  his  own  revenues  in  acts 
of  charity,  than  profit  by  the  labors  of  his  subjects. 

Edward  published  a  new  compilation  of  the  statutes  of  his  Saxon 
predecessors,  among  which  those  favorable  to  the  people  held  the 
first  rank.  Hence  they  were  ever  since  called  the  liiws  and  customs 
of  the  good  king  Edward.  This  truly  good  and  excellent  monarch  died 
in  the  beginning  of  the  year  1066,  and  was  canonized,  about  a  cen- 
tury after,  by  Pope  Alexander  III. 


NORMANS  IN  ENGLAND.— WILLIAM   THE  CONQUEROfc. 
A.  D.  1066—1087. 


BY  the  death  of  King  Edward,  England  was  replunged  into  the 
miseries  of  war.  As  he  had  died  without  issue,  the  British  sceptre 
was  claimed  by  several  competitors,  among  whom  Harold,  the  chief 
of  the  English  nobility,  and  WHliam,  duke  of  Normandy,  were  the 
most  powerful.  Setting  aside  the  question  which  of  the  two  was 
more  entitled  to  the  throne,  both  of  them  were  worthy  of  it  by  their 
uncommon  qualifications  of  body  and  mind,  and,  what  was  very  sin- 
gular, each  one  claimed  it  in  virtue  of  the  late  king's  will  and  ap- 
pointment. 

Whilst  William  prepared  to  prosecute,  by  arms,  his  claims  or  his 
pretensions,  Harold,  being  already  present  in  the  kingdom,  was  the 
first  proclaimed  and  acknowledged  as  its  sovereign.  But  he  had  the 
misfortune  to  be  opposed  at  the  same  time,  not  only  by  a  foreign 
rival,  but  also  by  his  own  brother  Tostig,  in  whom  he  experienced, 
for  having  been  accessary  to  his  exile  during  the  preceding  reign,  a 
bitter  and  deadly  enemy.  Tostig  visited  Normandy,  and  arranged  a 
plan  of  co-operation  with  the  duke :  having  moreover  sent  deputies 
to  the  northern  princes,  he  succeeded  in  obtaining  the  assistance  of 
Hardrada,  king  of  Norway.  A  gallant  army  in  a  fleet  of  three  hun- 
dred sail,  unexpectedly  appeared,  landed  without  opposition,  and  suK- 
duecl  the  province  of  Northumberland  with  York  its  capital.  HnroM. 
who  was  at  that  time  awaiting  the  threatened  descent  of  the  duke  of 


*.  c.  1066-1087.     NORMANS  IN  ENGLAND,  ETC.  225 

Normandy,  lost  no  time  in  marching  against  the  Norwegians.  He 
overtook  them  at  Stamford  Bridge,  and  completely  defeated  them  in  a 
bloody  battle,  in  which  both  his  perfidious  brother  and  the  Norwe- 
gian monarch  were  slain.  The  remnant  of  the  vanquished  were 
compelled  to  re-embark. 

Almost  simultaneously  with  this  great  victory,  intelligence  arrived 
that  the  Normans  had  just  landed  on  the  coast  of  Sussex.  William, 
having  at  length  completed  his  vast  preparations  for  the  invasion  of 
England,  crossed  the  channel  with  a  fleet  of  at  least  nine  hundred 
vessels,  which  carried  an  army  still  more  formidable  for  the  valor 
than  for  the  number  of  the  combatants.  The  duke  set  them  an  ex- 
ample of  wonderful  daring.  At  the  very  moment  of  the  landing  of  his 
troops,  happening  to  fall  on  the  shore,  and  being  afraid  lest  this  should 
appear  to  weak  minds  a  bad  omen  for  the  success  of  his  enterprise, 
he  cried  out  with  admirable  presence  of  mind :  "  I  take  possession 
of  England ;  it  belongs  to  me ;  I  lay  hold  of  it  with  both  hands." 

At  the  receipt  of  the  fatal  news,  Harold  mustered  his  forces,  and 
led  them  straight  forward  against  the  enemy.  He  had  defeated 
the  Norwegians  on  the  25th  of  September;  on  the  14th  of  the  fol- 
lowing month,  he  arrived  in  sight  of  the  Normans,  at  a  place  called 
Senlac,  nine  miles  from  Hastings. 

The  next  day  both  armies  prepared  for  battle.  Harold  posted  his 
troops  on  the  declivity  of  a  hill  in  one  compact  body;  William  mar- 
shalled his  host  on  the  opposite  eminence,  and  arranged  with  par- 
ticular care  the  squadrons  of  his  numerous  cavalry,  on  which  he 
principally  rested  his  hope  of  success.  After  the  usual  discharge  of 
arrows,  the  Norman  knights  fiercely  advanced  against  their  motion- 
less opponents.  The  shock  Avas  dreadful;  but  the  English  at  every 
point  opposed  a  vigorous  and  successful  resistance,  and  their  battle 
axe  was  so  powerfully  wielded,  that  the  aggressors  could  not  prevent 
their  left  wing  from  being  thrown  into  confusion.  Even  a  report  was 
spread  that  William  himself  had  fallen ;  and  the  whole  army  was  be- 
ginning to  waver,  when  the  duke,  riding  along  the  line,  exclaimed: 
"  I  am  still  alive,  and,  with  the  help  of  God,  I  shall  gain  the  victory/' 
This  revived  the  courage  of  the  Normans,  and  those  among  the 
English  who  had  incautiously  pursued  the  left  wing  too  far,  were  in- 
tercepted and  cut  to  pieces. 

The  combat  having  now  recommenced  with  fresh  animosity,  Wil- 
liam had  recourse  to  a  stratagem  suggested  to  his  mind  by  his  pre- 
vious success:  he  ordered  a  division  of  his  cavalry  to  feign  flight; 
a  considerable  number  of  their  opponents  pursued  them,  and  were 
instantly  destroyed.  This  however,  did  not  suffice  to  decide  the 
bloody  contest:  the  maio-body  of  the  English  obstinately  maintained 
their  position,  and,  by  always  opposing  to  the  Normans  a  solid  uud 


226  MODERN  HISTORY.  Part  IV, 

impenetrable  mass,  bade  defiance  to  all  their  efforts.  The  battle  con- 
tinued in  this  manner,  with  doubtful  success,  from  nine  in  the  morn- 
ing till  about  sun-set,  when  Harold,  who  had,  like  William,  con- 
stantly animated  his  troops  by  word  and  example,  was  shot  by  an 
arrow  which  penetrated  to  the  brain.  He  instantly  fell  among  heaps 
of  the  dead,  and  the  knowledge  of  his  fall  broke  the  spirit  of  the  sur- 
viving English :  at  dusk  they  fled  in  utter  confusion,  dispersed  through 
the  woods,  and  were  pursued,  with  great  slaughter,  by  their  victorious 
enemy. 

Such  was  the  ever  memorable  battle  of  Hastings,  which  put  an 
end  to  the  Saxon  line  of  monarchs,  and  placed  the  Norman  dynasty 
on  the  throne  of  England.  On  the  side  of  the  conquerors,  more  than 
one-fourth  of  their  army,  which  amounted  to  almost  sixty  thousand 
men,  were  left  on  the  field;  the  number  of  the  slain  among  the  van- 
quished, although  justly  supposed  to  have  been  much  greater,  is  un- 
known: all  agree  at  least  in  pronouncing  the  victory  of  William  com- 
plete and  decisive.  After  refreshing  his  army  by  a  few  days  repose, 
and  taking  the  castle  of  Dover,  he  marched  straight  to  London.  His 
unexpected  presence  spread  terror  and  dismay  among  the  people,  the 
nobility  and  the  clergy,  who  were  there  assembled;  they  however  re- 
ceived him  with  expressions  of  congratulation,  and  made  him  a  ten- 
der of  the  crown,  which  after  a  short  pause  he  accepted. 

From  the  best  and  most  impartial  historians,  it  appears  that  the 
plan  of  William  was  that  of  a  mild  and  moderate  goverment.  The 
h'rst  measures  of  his  reign  tended  to  sooth  the  feelings  and  to  acquire 
the  esteem  of  the  English.  Having,  shortly  after  his  coronation, 
made  a  tour  through  the  kingdom,  he  every  where  scattered  benefits 
around  him,  and  graciously  received  the  submission  of  his  new  sub- 
jects. The  privileges  of  the  citizens  were  rather  increased,  nor  was 
any  change  attempted  in  their  laws  and  customs,  unless  imperiously 
required  by  existing  circumstances.  It  is  true  that,  in  order  to  secure 
their  obedience,  he  built  and  garrisoned  castles  in  various  parts  of  the 
country,  and  granted  valuable  rewards  to  his  .Norman  followers;  but 
the  former  step  was  a  precautionary  measure  which  it  would  be  un- 
reasonable to  blame  in  a  conqueror;  and  the  latter  transaction  ap- 
pears to  have  been  so  far  conducted  according  to  the  strict  rules  of 
justice,  as  to  give  to  no  Englishman  any  just  cause  of  complaint. 

These  proceedings  however  displeased  the  native.-,  and  William 
soon  perceived  that  he  had  gained  neither  their  favor  nor  confidence. 
As  he  had  set  out  in  the  spring  of  1067,  to  visit  his  continental  do- 
minions, the  English,  no  longer  awed  by  his  presence,  thought  it  a 
fiappy  opportunity  to  obtain  their  freedom.  Their  feelings  of  aver- 
sion for  a  foreign  yoke  were  now  highly  excited  by  the  imprudence 
of  the  governors,  whom  the  Conqueror  had  left,  and  who,  instead  of 


A.  D.  1016-1089.  NORMANS  IN  ITALY.  227 

adopting  his  system  of  conciliation,  arrogantly  oppressed  the  people; 
national  animosity  increased,  discontent  became  general,  and  rebellion 
seemed  every  where  inevitable. 

William,  being  informed  of  all  this,  returned  to  England  with  a 
secret  determination  to  crush  by  severity,  a  people  whom  he  could 
not  gain  by  mildness.  In  fact,  from  this  time  forward,  he  laid  a 
heavy  hand  upon  his  English  subjects,  and  treated  them  with  that 
rigor  which  he  thought  the  right  of  conquest  justified.  He  obliged 
them  to  extinguish  their  fires  and  candles  at  an  early  hour  (eight 
o'clock)  in  the  evening,  the  signal  for  which  was  given  by  a  bell 
called  the  curfew  (caiivre-fcii);  nor  were  they  permitted  to  rekindle 
their  fires  till  the  morning  bell,  which  rang  at  four  o'clock.  His  policy 
suffered  no  Englishman  to  hold  any  place  of  trust.  By  means  of 
fines,  land  taxes,  banishment,  and  sometimes  capital  executions  for 
crimes  of  state,  William  had  the  disposal  both  of  property  and  honors, 
and  secured  in  his  own  hands  the  whole  strength  of  the  nation. 

If  these  measures  terrified  some  of  the  natives,  others  raised  the 
standard  of  insurrection  in  different  parts  of  the  kingdom.  But  nothing 
could  surprise  William.  His  vigilance,  firmness  and  activity  discon- 
certed all  the  plans,  or  baffled  all  the  measures  of  the  insurgents ;  and 
his  good  fortune  so  constantly  prevailed,  that  every  attempt  to  ruin 
his  power,  served  only  to  establish  it  more  firmly.  He  maintained  it 
with  equal  success  against  foreign  enemies,  the  Scots,  the  Danes  and 
the  French.  In  fine,  after  having  gloriously  reigned  during  forty  one 
years  in  Normandy,  and  twenty-one  in  England,  he  died  in  1087; 
odious  indeed  to  many,  on  account  of  his  severity,  but  still  in  point  of 
natural  talents,  of  enterprising  spirit,  of  political  and  military  achieve- 
ments, undoubtedly  one  of  the  first  princes,  and  perhaps  the  most 
conspicuous  sovereign  of  his  age.  His  posterity,  either  in  the  right, 
or  in  the  female  line,  has  ever  since  occupied  the  throne  of  Great 
Britain. 


NORMANS  IN  ITALY.— A.  D.  1016-1089. 

THE  subjugation  of  England  was  not  the  only  conquest  made  by 
the  Normans  in  the  eleventh  century  ;  during  the  same  period,  other 
warriors  of  the  same  nation  equally  astonished  Europe  by  their 
exploits  in  Italy.  A  little  before  the  year  1016,  forty  Normans, 
returning  from  a  pilgrimage  to  the  Holy  Land,  happened  to  stop  at 
Salernum,  a  maritime  town  of  Campania,  at  the  very  time  when  it 
was  closely  besieged  by  the  Saracens.  These  pilgrims  were  men  of 
remarkable  size,  warlike  appearance  and  still  greater  courage. 


228  MODERN    HISTORY.  Part  IV, 

ing  penetrated  into  the  town,  they  asked  for  arms  and  horses,  and, 
making  a  sudden  sally  against  the  besiegers,  slew  many  of  them,  put 
the  rest  to  flight,  and  by  a  signal  victory  obliged  them  to  abandon  the 
siege.  Both  the  prince  and  the  inhabitants  of  Salernurn  exceedingly 
admired  their  valor,  loaded  them  with  presents,  and  endeavored  to 
retain  such  useful  warriors  in  tiieir  country.  But  they  refused, 
alleging  that  they  had  fought  for  no  other  end  than  the  glory  of  God 
and  the  honor  of  his  religion.  However,  the  Italians  prevailed  upon 
them  to  carry  to  their  countrymen  different  kinds  of  excellent  fruit, 
as  proofs  of  the  fertility  of  the  land,  and  an  inducement  to  come  to 
Italy. 

To  a  warlike  and  enterprising  people,  proposals  so  flattering  could 
not  fail  to  be  acceptable.  Normans  after  Normans  flocked  to  the 
peninsula,  and,  by  defending  it  against  its  enemies  and  invaders, 
began  to  acquire  in  that  delightful  country  rich  and  honorable  settle- 
ments. Among  these  fortunate  adventurers,  there  was  a  whole 
family  of  heroes,  consisting  of  the  twelve  sons  of  a  certain  Norman 
lord,  called  Tancrede,  who,  with  the  help  of  some  hundreds  of  their 
countrymen,  performed  most  surprising  exploits.  Sometimes  united 
with  the  Lombards  and  Italians  against  the  Greeks,  sometimes  with 
the  Greeks  against  the  Saracens,  they  became  a  match  for  all,  de- 
feated numerous  armies,  took  well  defended  and  fortified  towns, 
and  subdued  extensive  provinces. 

Of  these  heroic  brothers,  the  most  illustrious  were:  William  Iron- 
arm,  who,  by  incredible  exertions  of  courage,  solidly  established 
the  Normans  in  Apulia  (A.  D.  10 J3);  Robert  Guiscard,  who  stripped 
the  Greeks  of  their  last  possessions  in  the  same  province  (1080); 
and  Roger,  who  expelled  the  Saracens  for  ever  from  Sicily  (1089). 
All  these  conquered  territories  formed,  when  united,  a  powerful  and 
flourishing  state,  which  lasted  upwards  of  one  hundred  years. 
During  that  interval,  the  Norman  princes  who  ruled  over  it,  con- 
tinued to  inflict  severe  losses  on  the  emperors  of  Constantinople,  but 
were  themselves,  in  the  end,  obliged  to  yield  to  the  emperors  of 
Germany. 


CHIVALRY,    PARTICULARLY    IN    SPAIN.— RISE    OF    THE 
KINGDOM    OF   PORTUGAL.— A.  D.  1045—1095. 


THE  age  which  immediately  preceded  the  Crusades,  seemed  to 
have  been  eminently  the  age  of  chivalry  properly  so  called.  The 
order  of  chivalry  was  composed  of  Knights-Errant,  who  rode  through 
all  parts  of  the  country,  in  complete  armor,  for  the  purp'ose  of  redress- 


A.  D.  104S-1095.  CHIVALRY,,   ETC.  229 

ing  grievances,  and  of  protecting  innocent,  weak  and  afflicted  persons, 
against  tyranny  and  oppression.  Their  origin  may  be  traced  to  the 
reign  of  Charlemagne,  or  thereabouts;  their  decline  must  be  referred 
to  the  twelfth  century,  which  gave  rise  to  many  Military  Orders,  of 
far  greater  merit  and  celebrity  than  private  knighthood ;  however, 
during  the  epoch  of  which  we  are  now  speaking,  chivalry,  notwith-' 
standing  the  abuses  that  occasionally  attended  it,  proved  truly  benefi- 
cial to  humanity  and  social  order  in  Europe,  especially  when  there 
was  question  of  defending  Christians  against  infidels. 

Owing  to  its  peculiar  state  of  constant  warfare  against  the  Moors, 
Christian  Spain  possessed  numbers  of  those  generous  knights  ever 
ready  to  shed  their  blood  in  the  cause  of  national  glory,  religion  and 
justice.  Among  them,  the  foremost  in  heroic  valor  and  fortitude 
was  the  illustrious  Rodriguez  Diaz  of  Bivar,  who,  during  the  fifty 
last  years  of  the  eleventh  century,  did  not  cease  to  fight  with  wonder- 
ful success  the  enemies  of  his  country.  All  Europe  continually 
resounded  with  the  fame  of  his  prowess  and  repeated  triumphs,  of 
the  battles  he  had  fought,  the  victories  he  had  won,  the  princes  he 
had  conquered,  the  towns  he  had  subdued ;  exploits  so  much  the 
more  astonishing,  as  they  were  effected  entirely  by  his  personal  exer- 
tions, and  frequently  performed  without  any  assistance  from  his 
sovereign.  His  fame  extended  even  to  Asia;  and  the  Mahometan 
king  of  Persia  sent  deputies  to  the  Christian  knight  of  Spain,  to  con- 
gratulate him  upon  his  glorious  achievements.  The  name  of  Cid, 
or  Seid  (lord),  under  which  he  is  known  in  history  as  well  as  poetry, 
was  given  him  for  the  first  time  by  the  ambassadors  of  five  Moorish 
chieftains  whom  he  had  just  defeated  in  a  great  battle. 

It  was  chiefly  with  the  help  of  this  great  warrior  that  King  Al- 
fonso VI  succeeded  in  the  most  important  and  difficult  expedition  as 
yet  attempted  by  the  Christians  against  the  Moors.  This  prince 
cherished  an  ardent  desire  to  reconquer  Toledo,  the  ancient  capital 
of  the  Goths,  which  had  been  in  the  power  of  their  enemies  for  three 
hundred  and  seventy-two  years,  and  which  contained  nearly  three 
hundred  thousand  inhabitants.  No  sooner  was  his  intention  made 
known,  than,  from  all  parts  of  Spain  and  other  states  of  Christendom, 
multitudes  of  warriors  and  knights  flocked  to  the  standards  of  the 
Spanish  monarch,  to  share  with  him  in  this  glorious  enterprise.  The 
siege  was  long  and  perilous,  and  the  defence  was  not  less  vigorous 
than  the  attack.  At  length  the  bravery  of  the  Saracens  yielded  to 
the  valor  of  the  Christians,  and,  in  the  spring  of  1085,  Toledo,  with 
many  other  towns,  surrendered  to  Alfonso,  who  directly  made  it  the 
capital  of  his  kingdom  and  the  seat  of  his  residence,  instead  of  Bur- 
gos, the  chief  city  of  old  Castile. 

Among  the  foreign  knights  who  had  come  to  unite  thefr  efforts 
20 


230  MODERN  HISTORY.  PartIV, 

with  those  of  the  Spaniards  for  the  achievement  of  this  great  con 
quest,  the  most  distinguished  were  Counts  Raymond  and  Henry  of 
Burgundy,  of  the  royal  family  of  the  Capetians  in  France.  In  every 
battle,  they  displayed  a  valor  worthy  of  their  rank,  and  on  every 
occasion  evinced  such  noble  feelings,  as  to  attract  general  esteem, 
and  particularly  that  of  the  Spanish  king.  In  order  to  secure  their 
subsequent  services,  Alfonso  gave  them  his  daughters  in  marriage, 
and  loaded  them  with  honors  which  lime  rather  increased.  The 
posterity  of  Raymond  inherited  the  throne  of  Castile,  and  occupied 
it  until  it  passed,  by  alliance,  to  the  house  of  Austria,  in  the  begin- 
ning of  the  sixteenth  century.  Henry  was  invested  with  extensive 
power  over  the  more  western  provinces  which  had  been  taken  from 
the  Moors,  and  thus  laid  the  foundation  of  the  Portuguese  monarchy, 
so  called  from  Porto,  its  first  capital  (A.  D.  1095).  This  new  state, 
however,  did  not  acquire  the  title  of  kingdom,  until  forty-four  years 
later,  when  Alphonso  Henriquez,  the  worthy  son  of  Count  Henry, 
having  gloriously  defeated  five  Saracen  kings  on  the  same  day,  was 
himself  proclaimed  king  by  his  troops  on  the  field  of  battle. 


AFFAIR  OF  INVESTITURES. 


DURING  these  civil  revolutions  in  many  parts  of  Christendom, 
transactions  of  a  different  nature  engaged  the  public  mind  in  Ger- 
many and  northern  Italy.  The  custom  had  been  introduced  in 
various  places,  and  particularly  throughout  the  German  empire,  of 
putting  the  newly  elected  bishops  and  abbots  in  possession  of  their 
benefices,  by  giving  them  the  ring  and  the  crosier,  the  symbols  of 
pastoral  authority.  As  this  ceremony,  called  investiture.,  seemed  to 
imply  the  conferring  of  spiritual  jurisdiction  by  temporal  princes,  it 
was,  after  due  examination,  justly  considered  as  an  encroachment  on 
the  rights  of  the  Church.  Not  content,  however,  with  exercising  it, 
the  emperor  Henry  IV  carried  on  a  shameful  nnd  most  scandalous 
traffic  in  ecclesiastical  dignities,  bestowing  them,  not  on  worthy  can- 
didates, but  on  those  who  offered  him  .the  largest  sums  of  money. 
Pope  Gregory  VII  inveighed  against  these  crying  abuses  with  ardent 
zeal  and  unabated  constancy.  But  both  his  entreaties  and  expostu- 
lations were  disregarded;  and  the  wicked  emperor,  instead  of  amend- 
ing his  conduct,  convened  an  assembly  at  Worms,  in  which,  with  a 
body  of  schismatical  associates,  he  presumed  to  pass  sentence  of 
deposition  against  the  pontiff  (A.  D.  1076). 

This  outrageous  act  served  only  to  increase  the  zeal  of  Gregory. 
He  not  only  continued  to  govern  the  Church  with  apostolic  vigor, 


AFFAIR    OF    INVESTITURES.  231 

but  even  thought  that  his  duty  required  more  than  he  had  hitherto 
done.  With  the  advice  of  a  numerous  council,  and  taking  into  con- 
sideration both  the  incorrigibleness  of  Henry  and  the  repeated  com- 
plaints of  his  oppressed  subjects,  he  excommunicated  him,  and  pro- 
nounced him  fallen  from  his  royal  dignity ;  at  the  same  time  declaring 
the  Germans  no  longer  bound  by  their  former  oath  of  allegiance  to 
him.  Singular  as  the  power  may  appear  which  Gregory  then  exer- 
cised, the  general  opinion  of  his  contemporaries  admitted  that  such 
power  lay  within  the  sphere  of  papal  jurisdiction,  and  it  was  sup- 
ported by  the  civil  and  common  jurisprudence  of  the  times.* 

At  the  news  of  the  sentence  pronounced  by  the  pope,  the  lords  and 
princes  of  Germany  assembled  in  great  numbers,  in  order  to  appoint 
another  emperor  in  the  place  of  Henry.  The  distressed  monarch 
perceived  the  gathering  storm,  and  saw  no  means  of  averting  it  but 
by  a  reconciliation  with  the  See  of  Rome ;  he  therefore  departed  in 
great  haste  for  Italy,  fully  determined  to  effect  this  desired  reconcilia- 
tion on  any  terms.  Gregory  had  left  Rome  and  advanced  as  far  as 
Canosse,  a  castle  of  Lombardy,  on  his  way  to  Germany  where  he 
was  expected  by  the  princes.  Henry,  in  a  penitential  garb,  presented 
himself  before  the  gates  of  the  castle,  humbly  begging  to  be  admitted 
into  the  presence  of  the  pontiff,  acknowledging  his  guilt,  and  with 
every  mark  of  true  repentance,  expressing  his  readiness  to  make  all 
the  satisfaction  in  his  power. 

Gregory,  who  had  more  than  once  experienced  the  insincerity  and 
inconstancy  of  the  emperor,  kept  him,  by  way  of  trial,  in  suspense 
for  three  days :  on  the  fourth  day,  he  gave  him  an  audience,  received 
his  submission,  and  absolved  him  on  certain  conditions.  But  the 
repentance  of  Henry  did  not  last  more  than  fifteen  days;  having 
assembled  anumerous  army,  he  refused  to  comply  with  the  terms  which 
he  had  accepted,  and  resumed  his  former  course  of  violence  against 
Church  and  State.  At  length  the  German  lords,  disgusted  with  this 
faithless  and  wicked  monarch,  proceeded  to  the  election  of  another, 
and  chose  Rudolph,  Duke  of  Suabia,  for  their  sovereign.  Still, 
Henry  remained  master  of  the  empire,  his  competitor  having  perished 

*  This  point  has  been,  from  a  variety  of  public  and  authentic  documents, 
set  in  the  clearest  light  by  the  learned  and  judicious  author  of  a  work  recently 
published  in  Paris,  entiled:  " Pouvoir  du  Pape  au  moyen  age."  It  is  like- 
wise solidly  proved  by  Count  de  Maistre  (Du  Pape,  livre  n,  ch.  x.)  ;  by 
Abb£  Jager,  (in  his  Introduction  to  the  life  of  Gregory  VII,  translated  from 
the  German),  etc.  Nay,  it  is  admitted  by  many  celebrated  Protestant 
writers,  such  as  Leibnitz,  De  Jure  Supremalus,  Pseifel,  etc.  and  even  by  the 
infidels  Bolingbroke  and  Voltaire.  This  alone  must  appear  sufficient  to 
vindicate  the  conduct  of  Pope  Gregory  with  regard  to  the  emperor  Henry 
IV,  and  of  some  of  his  successors  towards  other  sovereigns  of  the  same 
stamp  See,  moreover,  Note  H. 


232  MODERN   HISTORY.  Part  1V| 

in  a  battle  near  Mersburg,  after  three  years  of  a  disputed  succession 
(A.  D.  1080). 

Elated/ with  success,  the  conqueror  marched  at  the  head  of  his 
troops  into  Jtaly,  and  besieged  Rome,  which  he  took  after  a  long 
siege,  more  however  by  bribery  than  by  force  of  arms.  He  entered 
the  Lateran  palace,  and  endeavored  to  cause  the  excommunicated 
bishop  of  Ravenna,  Guibert,  to  be  declared  pope,  under  the  name  of 
Clement  III.  In  the  meantime,  Gregory  had  retreated  into  the  strong 
castle  of  St.  Angelo,  where  he  remained  secure  till  the  arrival  of 
Robert  Guiscard,  the  valiant  leader  of  the  Normans,  who  compelled 
the  emperor  to  retire  with  his  anti-pope.  The  lawful  pontiff  was 
thus  left  master  of  .the  city;  but,  as  party  violence  rendered  it  either 
unsafe  or  unpleasant  for  him  to  remain  there,  he  removed  first  to 
Mount  Cassino,  and  thence  to  Salerno,  where  he  was  taken  danger- 
ously ill.  In  his  last  moments,  he  uttered  these  words :  "  I  have 
loved  justice,  and  hated  iniquity;  wherefore  I  die  in  a  strange  land;" 
after  which,  amidst  the  prayers  and  tears  of  the  cardinals  and  bishops 
who  had  gathered  around  him,  he  calmly  expired,  on  the  25th  of 
May,  1085. 

Far  different  was  the  end  of  his  violent  persecutor.  The  obstinate 
perseverance  of  Henry  in  the  schism  kept  up  a  strong  opposition 
against  him  in  Germany;  so  much  so,  that  his  own  sons  openly 
revolted,  and  obliged  him  to  abdicate  the  crown.  The  dethroned 
monarch  retired  to  Liege,  where  he  died  shortly  after,  like  the  ancient 
persecutors  of  the  Church,  a  prey  to  excessive  grief  and  misery,  and 
an  object  of  indignation  to  the  whole  world.  He  had  reigned  about 
fifty  years,  and  during  that  time,  had  been  present  in  sixty-two  battles, 
in  most  of  which  he  was  victorious.  His  exploits,  his  bravery,  and 
his  talents  might  have  ranked  him  among  the  greatest  emperors  of 
Germany,  had  he  not  disgraced  himself  by  his  perfidy,  and  by  yield- 
ing to  detestable  and  unruly  passions.  The  question  of  investitures 
was  settled  after  his  death;  in  the  year  1122,  the  emperor  Henry  V 
agreed  to  resign  the  custom,  of  giving  the  ring  and  the  crosier,  and 
this  transaction  was  solemnly  confirmed  by  the  first  general  council 
of  Lateran,  in  1123. 


REMARKS  ON  THE  MIDDLE  AGES. 

TKTTCE  OF  GOD. 

THE  ninth,  tenth  and  eleventh  centuries,  are  commonly  called  the 
middle,  and,  by  a  numerous  class  of  writers,  the  dark  ages.  To 
know  whether  or  how  far  this  second  appellation  is  correct,  deserves 


REMARKS    ON    THE    MIDDLE    AGES.          233 

a  particular  investigation,  and  will  be  the  object  of  the  following 
remarks. 

In  the  first  place,  it  must  be  confessed  that,  a  short  time  after  the 
reign  of  Charlemagne,  ignorance  began  anew  to  make  great  progress 
in  Europe,  especially  among  nobles,  many  of  whom,  being  exclu- 
sively given  to  the  profession  of  arms,  even  boasted  of  their  want  of 
instruction  and  literary  knowledge.*  But  never  perhaps  were  more 
strenuous  efforts  made  to  keep  alive  the  sacred  flame  of  science,  and 
promote  the  instruction  of  youth,  than  were  made  by  the  Church  at 
the  period  of  which  we  are  speaking.f  Besides  smaller  schools  for 
children  in  country  parishes,  there  were  in  large  cities,  in  monaste- 
ries, and  in  episcopal  houses,  various  institutions  in  which  a  relish 
for  study  and  learning  was  carefully  preserved.  In  these,  besides  the 
Holy  Scriptures  and  Christian  doctrine,  the  students  could  learn  what 
was  then  termed  the  seven  liberal  arts ;  Grammar,  Logic,  Rhetoric, 
Arithmetic,  Geometry,  Astronomy  and  Music.  Many  schools  of  this 
kind  are  known  to  have  existed  in  Italy,  England,  France,  Germany, 
etc.  such  as  those  of  Rome,  Lyons,  Paris,  York,  Oxford,  Fuld, 
Ratisbon,  Paderborn,J  etc.  They  did  not,  it  is  true,  possess  men  like 

*  Many  deeds  and  legal  instruments  of  those  ages  are  found,  which  ter- 
minate thus:  "And  the  aforesaid  lord  has  declared  that  he  did  not  know 
how  to  sign  his  name,  owing  to  his  being  a  nobleman." 

f  See  the  decrees  of  Popes  Eugenius  II,  Leo  IV,  etc.  in  the  councils  of 
Rome,  A.  D.  826,  853,  etc.;— the  canons  of  the  councils  of  Mentz  and  Cha- 
lons, A.  r.  813;  of  Paris,  829;  of  Valence,  855;  of  Toul,  859,  etc:— and 
the  statutes  of  Herard,  Archbishop  of  Tours ;  of  Riculfus  bishop  of  Sois- 
sons ;  etc.  Merely  to  quote  one  or  two  of  these  decrees ;  the  council  of 
Toul,  in  the  tenth  canon,  earnestly  entreats  princes  and  recommends  to 
bishops  to  establish  every  where  public  schools,  for  the  teaching  of  both 
sacred  science  and  polite  literature:  and  Herard,  archbishop  of  Tours,  in 
his  book  of  synodical  regulations,  commands  his  priests  to  have,  as  far 
as  they  can,  schools  in  their  parishes.  Not  long  before,  Theodulphe,  bishop 
of  Orleans,  had  expressed  himself  thus,  in  the  20th  Art.  of  his  1st  Capitular  : 
"  Let  the  priests  establish  schools  in  towns  and  villages  for  the  instruction 
of  children,  and  not  refuse  to  receive  and  teach  those  who  are  personally 
addressed  to  them.  But  in  so  doing,  let  them  require  no  salary,  nor  accept 
any  thing  but  what  may  be  voluntarily  and  charitably  offered  by  the 
parents." 

J  In  Paderbornensi  ecclesia  publica  floruerunt  studia,  quandb  ibi  musici 
fuerunt,  et  dialectic!  enituerunt,  rhetorici,  clarique  grammatici.  Ubi  mathe- 
matici  claruerunt,  et  astronomici  habebantur,  physici  atque  geometric!. 
Viguit  Horatius,  magnusque  Virgilius,  Sallustius  et  Statius.  Jlpud  Tho- 
massin,  Discipl.  de  VEgl.  Part,  n,  /.  i,  ch.  99,  n.  2 ; — vol.  n,  col.  638. 

In  the  same  chapter  and  in  other  chapters  of  the  same  work,  the  learned 
Oratorian  shows  that  studies  were  also  very  flourishing  in  the  schools  of 
Worms,  Paris,  Lyons,  and  still  more  so  in  that  of  Rome,  of  which  he  speaks 
at  length,  and  then  says :  "  Let  us  conclude  that  the  pontifical  palace  of 
Rome  was  the  palace  of  polite  literature,  and  the  sanctuary  of  ecclesias- 
tical learning."  ch.  100,  n.  3.  See  also  on  this  subject,  Digby's  Jlgcs  of 
Fuilh,  vol.  n,  part  in,  <:h.  5  and  6. 


' 


234  MODERN     HISTORY.  Part  IV. 

St.  Basil  and  St.  John  Chrysostora,  Fenelon  and  Bossuet,  Newton 
and  Leibnitz ;  yet  it  cannot  be  denied  that  they  produced  many  learned 
writers  and  eminent  scholars,  who  might  have  become  models  for 
posterity  in  point  of  literature  and  learning,  had  they  enjoyed  the 
number  of  books  and  other  advantages  which  we  now  possess. 

Whatever  may  be  the  diffusion  of  superficial  knowledge  at  the  prt«- 
sent  day,  it  may  certainly  be  doubted  whether  in  point  of  solid,  pro- 
found and  extensive  learning,  many  persons  could  be  found  superior  to 
such  men  as  Lupus,  abbot  of  Ferrieres,  a  writer  of  the  ninth 
century,  in  whose  treatises  and  letters  all  impartial  critics  aclrnow 
ledge  an  immense  fund  of  erudition}  or  St.  Bruuon,  archbishop  ol 
Cologne  in  the  tenth  century,  Avhose  biographers  relate  that  then; 
was  no  part  of  Latin  and  Greek  literature,  no  branch  of  sacred  and 
profane  learning,  with  which  he  was  not  familiar.*  The  same,  or 
nearly  the  same,  may  be  said  of  the  following  authors,  as  their  own 
writings  testify :  Agobardus,  archbishop  of  Lyons,  who  died  in  8-10; — 
Rabanus,  archbishop  of  Mentz,  856;  Paschasius  Radbertus,  a  monk, 
865; — St.  Ado,  archbishop  of  Vienna,  in  France,  875; — Anastasius, 
the  Roman  librarian,  880; — Hincmar,  archbishop  of  Rheims,  882; — 
Remigius  of  Auxerre,  a  monk,  908; — Notker,  a  monk  of  St.  Gal, 
912; — Atto,  bishop  of  Vercelli,  960; — Flodoardus,  a  canon  in  the 
church  of  Rheims,  966; — Sylvester  II,  pope,  1003; — Abbo,  a  monk 
and  abbot  of  Fleury,  1004;— Fulbert,  bishop  of  Chartres,  1029;— 
St.  Peter  Damian,  cardinal,  1072; — St.  Gregory  VII,  pope,  1085;— 
Lanfrancus,  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  1089; — St.  Bruno,  founder 
of  the  Carthusian  order,  1101 ; — St.  Anselm,  archbishop  of  Canter- 
bury, 1108; — and  many  others,  equally  belonging  to  the  clergy  or  to 
religious  orders. 

To  speak  now  of  laymen  ;  although  generally  less  fond  of  study  and 
less  instructed,  it  ought  not  to  be  imagined  that  they  were  plunged 
in  a  state  of  barbarism  and  complete  darkness — far  from  it;  an  atten- 
tive perusal  of  the  history  of  the  middle  ages  will  rather  lead  to  the 
conclusion,  that,  without  knowing  how  to  display  much  elegance  in 
their  manners,  and  to  appreciate  the  flowing  periods  of  Demosthenes 
and  Cicero,  they  had,  in  their  noble  simplicity,  as  much  good  sense 
and  judgment  with  regard  to  affairs  of  real  importance,  as  we  have 
in  this  our  age  of  light,  and  frequently  more  than  we  manifest. 
They  knew  how  to  set  a  higher  value  on  religion  than  on  temporal 
concerns,  even  their  own  lives ;  they  knew  how  to  refer  their  best 

*  Prater  Sacras  litteras,  quidquid  historic!,  oratores,  poetae  atque  philoso- 
phi,  novum  et  grande  perstrepunt,  diligent'issime  cum  doctoribus  cujus- 
cumque  linguae  perscrutatus  est.  Nullum  penitus  erat  stiuliorum  liberalium 
•rcnus,  in  ornni  Graeca  vel  Latina  eloqucntia,  quod  ingenii  sui  vivacitot'-iu 
aufugeret. — .'Ipud  Thomass.  lib.  cit.  c.  99,  n.  3. 


REMARKS    ON"    THE   MIDDLE    AGES.          235 

achievements  in  the  arts  to  the  honor  and  service  of  the  Almighty, 
rather  than  to  the  petty  motives  of  selfish  gratification  and  human 
applause ;  they  knew,  too,  how  to  examine  attentively  difficult  mat- 
ters, to  reason  with  accuracy,  to  act  with  prudence,  to  succeed  in 
complicated  negotiations,  and  adopt  the  best  course  in  perplexing  cir- 
cumstances: witness,  among  others,  the  emperor  Otho  I  in  Ger- 
many; Kings  Alfred,  Edgar  and  Canute  in  England;  Hugh  Capet 
in  France;  Alfonso  III  in  Spain,  and  John  of  Gortz  and  Luitprand, 
the  ambassadors  of  Otho  I  to  the  courts  of  Cordova  and  Constan- 
tinople. 

Nor  did  our  ancestors  want  sagacity  and  genius  for  useful  discove- 
ries and  improvements,  since  many  of  this  kind  were  made  during 
the  middle  ages.  It  was  at  the  end  of  the  tenth  century,  that  Gerbert, 
a  monk,  afterwards  archbishop  of  Ravenna,  and  at  length  pope  under 
the  name  of  Sylvester  II,  invented  clocks  with  a  balance,  which  con- 
tinued in  use  till  pendulums  began  to  be  employed  in  1650.  To  him 
also  arithmetic  was  greatly  indebted  for  its  progress.  About  the  same 
time,  lanterns,  arid  paper  made  of  cotton  rags,  commenced  to  be 
used.  Towards  the  year  1022,  Guy,  a  monk  of  Arezzo  in  Italy, 
invented  and  introduced  into  the  Church  singing  the  gamut,  or  scale 
of  musical  notes,  by  which  a  child  can  learn  in  a  few  months,  what 
no  person  before  could  learn  without  several  years  of  study.  With 
regard  to  mechanical  arts,  it  is  enough  to  read  the  history  of  the 
siege  of  Jerusalem  in  1099,  to  know  what  wonderful  and  complicated 
machines  of  every  description  were  constructed  by  the  first  crusaders, 
men  consequently  of  the  middle  ages. 

Still,  if  credit  were  to  be  given  to  certain  authors,  the  inhabitants 
of  western  Europe,  at  the  time  of  which  we  are  speaking,  were 
mere  barbarians,  compared  with  the  Arabs,  to  whom  alone,  we  are 
told,  belonged  the  honor  of  cultivating  letters  and  the  arts  and  sciences. 
This  notion  is  altogether  false  and  unjust.  The  Arabs  indeed, 
whether  in  the  empire  of  Bagdad  or  in  the  kingdom  of  Cordova,  dis- 
tinguished themselves  by  a  great  show  of  politeness  and  magnifi- 
cence, by  some  happy  discoveries,  and  the  brilliant  dreams  of  their 
imagination  ;  but  that  they  were  superior,  in  point  of  solid  acquire- 
ments, to  the  Christian  nations  of  Europe,  it  would  be  difficult  to 
prove,  and  may  be  justly  doubted.*  Their  metaphysical  science 

*  Even  at  the  time  when  arts  and  sciences  were  in  their  most  flourishing 
state  among  the  eastern  Arabs,  namely,  under  Al-Mamon,  the  son  ana 
second  successor  of  Aaron-Al-Raschid;*that  caliph  was  himself  obliged  to 
acknowledge  the  superiority  of  Christian  scholars  over  his  subjects.  In  his 
own  palace,  a  Greek  slave,  who  had  formerly  studied  mathematics  in  Con- 
stantinople, confounded  all  the  doctors  and  masters  of  the  court.  Whilst 
all  present  stood  a^louishcd,  (he  slave  said  that  there  were  many  prisons 
among  Ins  countrymen  more  skilful  than  himself,  abova  all,  u  '-i-Haiti  I'M- 


236  MODERN    HISTORY.  Part  rv, 

instead  of  being  a  source  of  true  learning,  was  filled  up  with  subtiltiea 
taken  from  the  categories  of  Aristotle;  their  astronomical  observa- 
tions were  blended  with  the  ridiculous  theories  of  astrology,  and  their 
prejudices  against  anatomy  and  surgery  greatly  impeded  the  progress 
of  the  art  of  medicine.  They  did  not  improve  any  better  in  historical 
composition,  which  was  characterized  among  them  by  strange  re- 
marks, a  bombastic  style,  and  exaggerated  accounts.  Hence,  the 
learned  author  of  a  recent  history  of  the  crusades,  does  not  hesitate 
to  prefer  the  plain  and  unaffected  narratives  of  the  first  crusade,  left 
by  some  Christian  writers  of  the  eleventh  century,  to  the  Arabian 
records  of  the  same  epoch.  * 

Another,  and  a  still  more  striking  vindication  of  the  middle  ages 
against  the  charge  of  complete  darkness,  is  to  be  found  in  the  great 
number  of  splendid  churches  that  were  then  built  throughout  Chris- 
tendom, many  of  which  still  exist ;  for,  as  several  learned  men  have 
justly  remarked,  the  state  of  architecture  has  always  been  in  every 
country  a  sure  proof  of  the  degree  of  perfection  in  which  the  other 
arts  flourished.  Not  only  was  this  advantage  possessed  by  England 
during  the  reign  of  the  great  Alfred,  but  also  by  other  countries 
under  less  favorable  circumstances,  particularly  on  the  following 
occasion.  A  little  before  the  close  of  the  tenth  century,  an  opinion 
had  been  entertained  by  many  simple  persons,  that  the  world  would 
end  with  the  year  1000,  nor  had  the  writings  of  learned  men  been 
able  to  remove  that  imaginary  fear.  But  when  all  saw  the  eleventh 
century  begin  without  accident,  joy  took  the  place  of  terror,  and  the 
gratitude  of  the  people  towards  Almighty  God  prompted  them  to 
repair  churches,  or  build  new  ones  still  more  worthy,  by  their  splen- 
dor, of  being  consecrated  to  his  honor. 

Then,  indeed,  arose  in  different  parts  of  Christendom,  those  Gothic 
temples,  the  appearance  of  which,  at  once  grand,  majestic  and  im- 
posing, will  never  be  eclipsed  by  the  flimsy  elegance  of  most  of  our 
modern  edifices.  Then  were  laid  in  many  European  cities  the  foun- 
dations of  those  splendid  cathedrals,  in  which  we  still  admire  the 
symmetrical  rows  of  beautiful  pillars  supporting  immense  arched 
roofs,  the  towering  steeples,  and  a  thousand  other  ornaments:  monu- 
ments the  more  astonishing  and  worthy  of  admiration,  as  they  are 
found  even  in  many  inconsiderable  cities,  and  bear  testimony  to  the 
grand  ideas,  as  well  as  to  the  zeal  and  piety  of  our  European  ancestors. 

losopher,  called  Leo,  from  whom  he  had  received  lessons.  In  fact,  as  a 
geometer  and  an  astronomer,  Leo  had  not  his  equal  in  the  whole  empire. 
The  caliph  endeavored,  but  in  vain,  by  the  most  flattering  letters  and  pro- 
mises, to  bring  him  over  to  Bagdad :  the  Emperor  Theophilus  would  never 
let  him  go,  nor  consent  to  deprive  his  own  capital  of  so  distinguished  a 
scholar.— See  Lebeau,  Hist,  du  Bets.  Emp.  vol.  xvi,  pp.  441,  446. 
*  Michaut,  Hist,  dcs  Croisades,  vol.  i,  p,  519. 


REMARKS    ON    THE    MIDDLE    AGES.          237 

In  fine,  it  was  also  during  the  middle  ages  that,  through  missiona- 
ries from  Italy,  Germany,  France,  England,  etc.  northern  Europe 
received  the  light  of  the  gospel;  that  the  Normans,  the  Hungarians, 
the  Danes,  the  Swedes,  the  Russians,  the  Lithuanians,  the  Poles, 
et3.  began  at  the  same  time  to  become  Christian  and  civilized  nations. 
But  how  could  this,  we  may  ask,  have  been  effected  by  any  of  their 
contemporaries,  had  those  contemporaries  been  themselves  mere  bar- 
barians? How  could  so  arduous  a  task  ever  have  been  undertaken 
and  performed,  except  by  men  equally  zealous  and  learned,  equally 
possessed  of  heroic  virtues  and  great  mental  acquirements?  And 
indeed,  that  such  were  the  qualifications  of  the  missionaries  who 
subjected  these  nations  to  the  laws  of  Christianity,  we  learn  from  al] 
the  documents  of  that  period. 

From  this  variety  of  evidence  and  facts,  we  are  certainly  author- 
ized to  conclude,  in  the  first  place,  that  the  opinion  commonly  enter- 
tained about  the  middle  ages  is  egregiously  wrong,  their  pretended 
state  of  stupidity  and  barbarism  never  having  had  any  existence, 
except  in  the  theories  of  modern  invention:  arid  secondly,  that  it  is 
to  the  Catholic  Church,  to  her  popes,  bishops  and  monks,  that  we 
stand  indebted  for  the  preservation  of  civilization,  literature,  arts  and 
sciences  in  Europe.  The  complete  revival  of  letters  came  from  the 
same  source,  and  the  progress  of  ignorance,  after  having  been  vigor- 
ously opposed  even  in  the  most  difficult  times,  was  at  length  effec- 
tually checked  (A.  D.  1 179 — 1215),  by  the  decrees  of  Popes  Alexander 
III  and  Innocent  III,  in  the  third  and  fourth  councils  of  Lateran , 
conformably  to  which  decrees,  colleges  and  universities  began  to 
spring  up  in  every  part  of  Christendom. 

Another  excellent  institution  that  owed  ils  existence  to  the  mid- 
dle ages,  and  for  which  humanity  was  also  indebted  to  the  happy 
influence  of  religion,  was  the  sacred  compact  usually  termed  the 
Truce  of  God.  From  the  ninth  to  the  eleventh  century,,  the  feudal 
system,  however  beautiful  in  many  of  its  principles,  had  been  a  con- 
stant source  of  contentions  and  wars.  Each  petty  chieftain  arrogated 
to  himself  an  almost  unlimited  use  of  force  and  violence  to  avenge 
his  wrongs,  and  pursue  his  rights  whether  real  or  pretended.  As, 
moreover,  vassals  were  obliged  to  espouse  the  quarrels  of  their  imme- 
diate lords,  rapine,  bloodshed  and  their  attendant  miseries  were  to  be 
seen  every  where;  nor  could  the  most  pacific  citizens  depend  on  one 
moment  of  perfect  security,  either  for  their  properties  or  their  lives. 

Religion,  by  her  divine  and  universally  revered  authority,  was 
alone  capable  of  raising  an  efficacious  barrier  against  this  torrent  of 
evils.  Experience  having  already  shown  the  impossibility  of  stem- 
ming it  at  once,  prudent  measures  were  taken  gradually  to  diminish 
its  violence.  Several  bishops  ordered  under  penalty  of  excommuni- 


238  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Fart  IV, 


cation,  that,  every  week,  during  the  four  days  consecrated  to  the 
memory  of  our  Saviour's  passion,  death,  burial  and  resurrection,  viz 
from  the  afternoon  of  Wednesday  till  the  morning  of  the  following 
Monday,  whatever  might  be  the  cause  of  strife  and  quarrel,  all 
private  hostilities  should  cease.  Shortly  after,  the  same  prohibition 
was  extended  to  the  whole  time  of  Advent  and  Lent,  including  seve- 
ral weeks  both  after  Christmas  and  after  Easter-Sunday.  This  bene- 
ficial institution,  which  originated  in  France  towards  the  year  1040, 
was  adopted  in  England,  Spain,  etc.  and  was  confirmed  by  several 
popes  and  councils :  nor  must  it  be  thought  that  it  remained  a  dead 
letter;  its  success,  on  the  contrary,  was  so  remarkable,  that  the  pious 
age  in  which  the  experiment  was  made,  hesitated  not  to  attribute  it 
to  the  interposition  of  heaven. 

Thus,  by  the  exertions  of  ecclesiastical  authority,  the  horrors  and 
calamities  of  feudal  war  began  to  be  considerably  lessened  and 
abridged.  Its  ravages  were  restrained  to  three  days  in  the  week  and 
to  certain  seasons  of  the  year;  during  the  intervals  of  peace,  there 
was  leisure  for  passion  to  cool,  for  the  mind  to  sicken  at  a  languishing 
warfare,  and  for  social  habits  to  become  more  and  more  deeply  rooted. 
A  considerable  number  of  days  and  weeks  afforded  security  to  all, 
and  all,  being  now  shielded  by  the  religious  sanction  of  this  sacred 
compact,  could  travel  abroad,  or  attend  to  their  domestic  affairs, 
without  danger  of  molestation.  Such  was  the  splendid  victory 
which  the  religion  of  Christ  won  over  the  natural  fierceness  of  the 
ancient  tribes  of  the  north;  a  victory  whose  completion  was  also 
due  to  her  influence,  when  the  crusades  obliged  those  restless  war- 
riors to  turn  against  the  invading  hordes  of  the  Saracens  and  Turks, 
tiiose  weapons  which  they  had  hitherto  so  frequently  used  against 
their  fellow-Christians. 


PART    V. 


£ROM   THK    BEGINNING  OF    THE   CRUSADES  (A.  D.  1095),  TO  THEIR   END 
(A.  D.  1272). 


ORIGIN  AND  CAUSES  OF  THE  CRUSADES. 

WE  have  now  reached  the  eventful  period  in  which  a  violent  strug- 
gle took  place  between  two  great  divisions  of  the  globe,  for  the  pos- 
session of  Jerusalem  and  Palestine ;  when  Europe,  shaken,  as  it 
were,  to  its  foundation,  seemed  repeatedly  to  precipitate  itself  against 
Asia.  The  better  to  fix  our  attention  on  so  grand  and  interesting  a 
subject,  we  will  be  more  than  ever  careful  to  say  little  about  contem- 
porary transactions  of  merely  secondary  importance. 

By  Crusades  are  meant  those  military  expeditions  which  were  set 
on  foot  under  the  banner  of  the  cross,  for  the  purpose  of  delivering 
the  Holy  Land  from  the  oppressive  yoke  of  the  Mahometans.  Nu- 
merous and  forcible  were  the  motives  that  ur^ed  the  nations  of  Eu- 
rope to  engage  in  these  expeditions.  New  hordes  of  barbarians  were 
threatening  to  invade  all  Christendom,  and  required  a  powerful  bar- 
rier to  check  their  destructive  course.  The  Seljukian  Turks  had 
conquered,  within  a  few  years,  the  fairest  portions  of  western  Asia; 
the  extent  of  the  Greek  empire  was  more  and  more  reduced  by  their 
usurpations;  and  the  emperor  Alexius  Comnenus,  harassed  and  dis- 
tressed on  every  side,  eagerly  solicited  the  assistance  of  the  Latins 
against  the  common  enemy  of  Christianity. 

On  the  other  hand,  public  indignation  was  roused  throughout  Eu- 
rope by  the  daily  recital  of  the  enormities  which  the  Arabs  and 
Turks  committed  in  the  Holy  Land,  and  of  the  cruel  treatment  which 
they  inflicted  on  the  Christians,  whether  inhabitants  of  the  country, 
or  travellers  and  pilgrims  who  went  to  Jerusalem.  At  this  period, 
a  lively  faith  and  fervent  piety  induced  multitudes  of  Christians  from 
all  countries  to  visit  the  places  consecrated  by  the  sufferings  of  our 
Redeemer.  When,  after  a  thousand  dangers  and  hardships,  they  ar- 
rived in  Palestine,  the  gates  of  Jerusalem  were  opened  only  to  those 
who  could  pay  a  piece  of  gold;  and,  as  most  of  them  wore  poor,  or 


240  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Part  V. 


had  been  plundered  on  the  way,  they  were  obliged  to  linger  in 
wretchedness  around  the  city  for  which  they  had  left  their  native  land 
and  every  domestic  comfort.  Many  died  with  hunger,  or  fell  by  the 
sword  of  the  barbarians.  In  the  city  itself,  they  who  had  been  al- 
lowed to  enter  it,  were  exposed,  like  its  Christian  inhabitants,  to  alj 
sorts  of  torments  and  outrages,  some  being  loaded  with  chains,  some 
forced  to  draw  a  car  or  a  plough,  and  others  condemned  to  an  igno- 
minious death.  Such  as  could  escape  and  return  to  Europe,  did  not 
fail  to  relate  what  they  had  seen  and  suffered ;  and  these  reports,  be- 
ing widely  circulated,  excited  universal  commiseration  among  the 
faithful,  and  prepared  their  minds  for  some  extraordinary  exertion. 


FIRST   CRUSADE.— A.  D.  1095—1099. 


SUCH  were  the  feelings  of  Christian  Europe  when  a  French  priest, 
called  Peter,  and  surnamed  the  Hermit  on  account  of  his  retired  life, 
undertook  a  pilgrimage  to  Jerusalem.  Seeing  the  cruel  oppression 
which  weighed  down  his  brethren  in  Asia,  his  sensible  heart  was 
deeply  afflicted;  and,  after  a  moving  interview  with  Simeon,  the 
pious  patriarch  of  Jerusalem,  he  prevailed  upon  him  to  write  to  the 
pope,  and  to  the  princes  of  Europe,  for  the  purpose  of  imploring 
their  assistance,  offering  himself  to  be  his  deputy  and  the  bearer  of 
his  letters.  This  measure  being  readily  adopted,  Peter  set  out  from 
Palestine,  crossed  the  seas,  and,  landing  on  the  Italian  coast,  hastened 
to  the  pope,  Urban  II.  The  pontiff  received  him  with  kindness,  lis- 
tened to  him  with  emotion,  praised  his  devotedness  and  zeal;  and, 
as  he  himself  was  convinced  of  the  necessity  of  opposing  the  alarm- 
ing progress  of  the  infidels,  and  of  rescuing  the  eastern  Christians 
from  oppression,  he  commissioned  Peter  to  go  forward  and  preach 
every  where  in  favor  of  the  speedy  deliverance  of  Jerusalem. 

The  generous  hermit  was  eminently  qualified  for 'this  noble  office. 
Under  a  poor  garb  and  mean  appearance,  he  possessed  an  elevated 
mind,  great  energy  of  soul,  and  heroic  sentiments;  his  pathetic  and 
glowing  eloquence  readily  found  its  way  to  the  hearts  of  his  hearers. 
He  travelled  through  Italy,  France,  and  other  countries,  communi- 
cating to  all  by  his  preaching  and  his  exhortations,  the  zeal  with 
which  he  himself  was  animated.  The  pope  soon  followed  him,  and, 
after  a  first  council  held  at  Placentia  in  Italy,  appointed,  for  the  final 
decision,  another  to  be  celebrated  at  Clermont  in  France,  towards  the 
close  of  the  year  1095. 

The  assembly  met  at  the  time  and  place  which  had  been  assigned, 
and,  from  the  great  number  of  bishops,  princes,  dukes,  and  other 


A.  D.  1095—1099. 


FIRST  CRUSADE.  241 


distinguished  persons  who  composed  it,  together  with  an  immense 
crowd  of  spectators,  it  might  be  considered  a  general  convention  of 
Christendom.  Peter  the  hermit  having  first  spoken  with  his  usual 
ardor  in  favor  of  the  holy  war,  Pope  Urban  also  delivered  an  eloquent 
and  animated  discourse,  at  the  end  of  which  the  whole  assembly  spon- 
taneously exclaimed:  God  wills  it;  God  wills  it.  Most  of  those 
who  were  present,  hastened  to  be  enrolled  for  the  sacred  expedition. 
They  wore,  as  a  mark  of  their  engagement,  a  cross  made  of  red  stuff, 
and  commonly  fastened  on  the  right  shoulder;  whence,  originated 
the  name  of  Crusaders  and  Crusade. 

The  same  enthusiasm  spread  rapidly  through  the  other  cities  and 
the  various  states  of  Christendom.  Those  who,  in  the  council  of 
Clermont,  had  listened  to  the  animating  voice  of  the  pontiff,  on  their 
return  to  their  homes  diffused  a  similar  fervor  among  their  country 
men.  Thousands  and  thousands  flocked  to  the  banner  of  the  cross 
from  every  part  of  Europe,  particularly  from  France  and  Italy 
where  all  ranks  manifested  the  greatest  eagerness  to  share  in  the  cru- 
sade, and,  forgetting  their  private  quarrels,  began  to  prepare  for  their 
departure  into  the  East. 

Among  the  princes  who  engaged  themselves  in  the  holy  war  at  the 
head  of  their  vassals  and  subjects,  the  most  illustrious  were :  Raymond, 
count  of  Toulouse;  Robert,  duke  of  Normandy,  and  brother  of  the 
king  of  England ;  Hugh-the-Great,  count  of  Vermandois,  and  brother 
of  the  French  king;  Stephen,  count  of  Blois;  Robert,  earl  of  Flanders; 
Godfrey  of  Bouillon,  duke  of  Lorraine,  with  his  two  brothers  Eus- 
tace and  Baldwin;  in  fine,  Bohemond,  prince  of  Tarentum,  with 
his  heroic  nephew,  Tancred,  the  very  personification  of  ancient  chi- 
valry. Warriors  like  these  might  have  conquered  the  world,  had 
there  been  stricter  discipline  and  order  among  their  troops,  and  bettei 
understanding  among  themselves;  but  this  could  hardly  be  expected 
from  so  many  different  nations,  and  from  so  many  princes  indepen- 
dent of  each  other,  and  all  worthy  of  the  chief  command. 

One  of  them,  however,  Godfrey  of  Bouillon,  without  being  in- 
vested with  the  title  of  commander-in-chief.  generally  held  the  first 
rank  in  the  army,  this  privilege  being  the  natural  consequence  of  his 
reputation  for  unblemished  virtue  and  extraordinary  valor.  Although 
he  was  not,  by  birth,  either  the  most  conspicuous  or  the  most  power- 
ful of  the  lords  who  headed  the  crusade,  he  brought  to  the  field  no 
fewer  than  ninety  thousand  chosen  troops,  whom  the  reputation  of 
his  uncommon  merit  had  gathered  to  his  standard.  The  whole  num- 
ber of  the  crusaders  may  have  amounted,  in  the  beginning,  to  seven 
or  eight  hundred  thousand,  having  among  them,  as  legate  of  the 
pope,  the  celebrated  bishop  of  Puy,  Adhemar  de  Monteil,  a  prelate 
equally  renowned  for  his  consummate  prudence  and  tender  piety. 
21 


MODERN    HISTORY.  Part  v, 

At  the  close  of  winter,  they  set  out  from  various  points,  and  ad- 
•\Tanced  towards  the  East  in  different  directions.  The  first  bodies  that 
marched  forward,  being  destitute  of  discipline,  met,  with  few  excep- 
tions, a  disastrous  fate.  Some  of  them,  as  soon  as  they  entered 
Asia,  fell  by  the  swords  of  the  Turks ;  others  could  not  even  reach  the 
capital  of  the  Greek  empire,  but  were  slain,  in  their  march  through 
Hungary  and  Bulgaria,  by  the  inhabitants,  whose  attacks  they  had 
provoked  by  their  own  excesses  (A.  D.  1096). 

The  principal  leaders  of  the  expedition  acted  with  more  prudence, 
and  arrived  in  safety  at  Constantinople,  which  had  been  selected  for 
their  general  rendezvous.  Here  they  met  with  an  unforeseen  obsta- 
cle. The  Greek  emperor,  who  had  expected  only  some  bodies  of 
troops  to  assist  him  in  repelling  the  Turks,  could  not  see  such  a  mul- 
titude of  warriors  covering  his  empire,  and  so  formidable  a  force 
encamped  under  the  very  walls  of  his  capital,  without  apprehending 
an  attack  against  himself.  In  his  perplexity,  he  resolved  to  adopt 
towards  the  crusaders  a  course  of  dissimulation  and  craftiness,  which 
it  is  not  easy  to  reconcile  with  the  usual  courage,  generosity  and 
other  noble  qualities  of  Alexius.  He  loaded  the  chiefs  with  pre- 
sents, used  every  means  in  his  power  to  attach  them  to  his  interest, 
and  making  them  fair  promises  of  powerful  aid,  gave  directions  that 
vessels  should  be  prepared,  with  the  utmost  despatch,  to  convey  them 
across  the  Bosphorus  to  the  Asiatic  coast. 

The  Christian  army,  consisting  of  about  six  hundred  thousand 
men,  about  one  sixth  cavalry,  directed  their  march  to  Nice,  the  chief 
city  of  Bithynia.  This  town,  famous  for  the  reception  it  formerly 
gave  to  the  Fathers  of  two  general  councils,  was  now  in  the  power 
of  the  Turkish  Sultan  Kilidgi  Arsland,  or  Soliman  the  younger;  a 
prince  highly  commendable  for  the  inexhaustible  resources  of  his 
genius  and  the  unshaken  firmness  of  his  character.  At  the  head  of 
a  numerous  body  of  cavalry,  he  moved  forward  to  protect  his  capital. 
Furious  and  repeated  attacks  were  made  against  the  Christian  camp, 
but,  after  prodigious  efforts,  the  crusaders  remained  masters  of  the 
field,  and  bore  off  the  spoils.  Soliman  himself  could  not  forbear 
admiring  the  lion-like  courage  of  the  Christian  leaders,  who,  with  a 
thousand  lances,  would  often  break  and  put  to  flight  twenty  times 
that  number  of  Turkish  troops.  Thus  repulsed  with  great  loss,  he 
retired  to  a  distance  in  order  to  collect  new  forces,  and  attack  tho 
Christians  at  their  departure  with  greater  advantage. 

The  siege  was  now  carried  on  with  unabated  vigor,  the  besiegers 
and  the  besieged  making  use  of  all  the  resources  that  military  science 
had  hitherto  devised  for  the  attack  and  defence  of  fortified  places. 
Besides  a  double  wall  and  a  numerous  garrison,  the  city  was  pro- 
tected on  one  side  by  large  ditches,  and  on  the  other,  by  the  lake 


A.  D.  1095-1099.  FIRST  CRUSADE.  243 

Ascanius;  but  the  Christian  warriors  were  not  to  be  stopped  or  disr 
pirited  by  these  obstacles.  They  at  length  succeeded  in  preventing 
all  access  to  the  town,  even  by  the  lake;  and  Count  Raymond  under- 
mined one  of  the  principal  towers.  Nice,  reduced  to  the  last  extremi- 
ty, was  on  the  point  of  being  stormed,  when  the  flags  of  the  Greek 
emperor  suddenly  appeared  on  the  walls,  Alexius,  by  private  embas- 
sies, having  prevailed  upon  the  inhabitants  to  surrender  to  him  rather 
than  to  the  Franks.  This  artful  conduct  highly  displeased  the  cru- 
saders :  still,  not  to  break  their  treaty  with  the  Greeks,  nor  be  diverted 
from  the  main  object  of  their  enterprise,  they  consented  to  leave  the 
town  in  the  hands  of  Alexius ;  for,  they  had  previously  promised  him 
to  conquer  in  his  name,  and  to  restore  the  cities  which  had  formerly 
belonged  to  the  empire  of  Constantinople,  on  condition  that  he  should 
aid  them  in  the  conquest  of  the  Holy  Land. 

As,  however,  the  Greek  monarch  soon  evinced  little  inclination  to 
fulfil  his  own  promises,  the  Latin  lords  thought  themselves  no  longer 
bound  by  the  treaty.  Shortly  after  the  reduction  of  Nice,  they  began 
to  occupy  the  cities  of  Asia-Minor  and  Syria,  to  leave  garrisons  in 
them,  and  appoint  governors  in  their  own  name.  Tarsus  and  the  rest 
of  Cilicia  were  already  in  their  possession,  when  Baldwin,  the  brother 
of  Godfrey  led  off  a  detached  body  of  crusaders  towards  the  north, 
and  traversed  a  long  tract  of  country  inhabited  entirely  by  Christians, 
till  he  came  to  the  Euphrates.  The  citizens  of  Edessa,  in  Mesopo- 
tamia, as  soon  as  they  heard  of  his  arrival,  invited  him  to  take  them 
under  his  protection.  He  cheerfully  acceded  to  their  request,  took 
possession  of  the  sovereign  power  among  them,  and  established  a 
principality,  which  stood  until  the  year  1144,  when  it  was  subdued 
by  the  famous  chieftains  Zenghi  and  Nouradin. 

A  little  before  the  departure  of  Baldwin,  the  crusaders  were  exposed 
to  a  greater  danger  than  they  had  yet  encountered.  As  they  were 
marching  in  two  great  divisions,  the  less  numerous  body,  commanded 
by  Robert  of  Normandy,  Bohemond  and  Tancred,  was  suddenly 
attacked  near  Dorylseum  in  Phrygia,  by  a  countless  multitude  of 
Turks,  Persians  and  Arabs,  who  covered  all  the  hills  and  plains  as 
far  as  the  sight  could  extend.*  Bohemond  instantly  sent  messengers 
to  Godfrey  of  Bouillon  and  to  the  other  princes,  whom  he  knew  to 
be  near,  to  inform  them  of  the  danger  with  which  he  was  threatened. 
In  the  interim,  he  drew  up  his  forces  as  well  as  the  spot  permitted,  and, 
at  their  head,  together  with  Duke  Robert  and  Tancred,  exerted  all  his 
courage,  to  resist  the  shock  of  the  enemy.  The  battle  lasted  for  many 

*  The  number  of  the  Turks  and  Persians  is  believed  to  have  amounted 
to  nearly  two  hundred  thousand  men,  all  on  horseback ;  as  to  the  Arabs, 
says  a  contemporary  historian  who  was  present  at  the  battle,  so  great  was 
their  multitude,  that  God  alone  could  count  them. 


244  MODERN    HISTOHY.  Pm  v. 

hours;  but  about  noon,  the  Christians,  forced  back  by  the  multitude 
that  pressed  upon  them,  and  exhausted  with  heat,  thirst  and  fatigue 
began  to  give  way  before  the  Saracens,  and  their  defeat  seemed  inevi- 
table, when  repeated  shouts  and  a  cloud  of  dust  rising  from  behind 
the  hills,  announced  the  arrival  of  the  main  body  of  the  crusaders. 

Godfrey,  Hugh-the-Great,  and  Robert  of  Flanders,  had  taken  the 
lead  with  fifty  thousand  cavalry;  Raymond  of  Toulouse  and  Adhe- 
mar  of  Puy  were  following  as  rapidly  as  possible  with  the  rest  of 
the  army.  Each  one  arrayed  his  troops,  as  they  came  up;  and,  after 
the  usual  cry,  "God  wills  it,"  all,  with  levelled  lances,  advanced 
against  the  Turks,  who  vainly  endeavored  to  maintain  the  superiority 
which  they  had  acquired.  Unable  to  bear  the  charge  of  the  Latin 
chivalry,  the  infidels  fled  in  disorder,  and  abandoned  to  the  Christians 
their  camp  with  all  their  provisions  and  treasures  (A.  D.  1097). 

The  loss  of  trie  crusaders,  after  so  long  and  severe  a  battle,  was 
less  than  might  have  been  anticipated;  only  four  thousand  of  them 
are  said  to  have  fallen,  and  nearly  all  in  the  earlier  part  of  the  day. 
The  loss  of  the  Turks  was  far  more  considerable,  as  it  amounted  to 
upwards  of  twenty  thousand  soldiers  and  three  thousand  officers, 
with  several  of  their  generals.  Those  who  escaped,  spread  them- 
selves, by  the  orders  of  Soliman,  in  large  bands  over  the  country,  and 
despairing  to  defend  it  any  longer,  began  to  waste  and  destroy  every 
thing  in  their  way.  When  the  crusading  armies,  after  some  days  of 
repose,  resumed  their  march,  they  found  themselves  obliged  to  go 
across  large  tracts  which  had  been  completely  ravaged  by  the  enemy. 
There,  in  barren  plains  or  narrow  defiles,  under  a  scorching  sun,  and 
without  water  to  quench  their  thirst,  thousands  sunk  under  the  accu- 
mulated weight  of  fatigue  and  sickness,  and  most  of  the  horses  per- 
ished. Still,  the  survivors  marched  on  with  unshaken  resolution, 
and  at  length  reached  a  better  country.  After  subduing  many  towns, 
and  defeating  many  parties  of  Turks,  they  saw  themselves  in  the 
midst  of  delightful  plains,  near  the  great  and  well  fortified  city  of 
Antioch,  the  capital  of  Syria. 

In  a  council  of  war  held  by  the  leaders,  it  was  thought  unsafe  to 
leave  so  important  a  place  behind  them.  Accordingly,  they  resolved 
to  besiege  it;  an  undertaking,  which  the  strength  of  the  ramparts, 
the  valor  of  the  garrison,  and  the  imprudence  of  the  crusaders,  ren- 
dered both  tedious  and  difficult.  At  first,  many  of  the  Christians, 
delighted  with  the  beauty  of  the  land,  spread  themselves  without 
precaution  through  the  neighboring  plains,  where  they  were  sur- 
prised and  slaughtered  by  the  Turks.  Others,  forgetting  their  duty 
and  the  laws  of  the  Gospel,  gave  themselves  up  to  many  disorders, 
which  God  did  not  delay  to  punish,  want  of  food  during  winter, 
continual  rains  and  other  calamities  having  soon  caused  the  death  of 


*.  D.  1035-1099.  FIRST    CRUSADE.  245 

many,  and  made  others  repent  of  their  excesses.  At  length,  the 
united  exertions  of  the  princes  and  clergy  put  an  end  to  those  evils. 
Abundance  returned  with  the  spring;  the  courage  of  the  troops  was 
revived  with  the  restoration  of  good  order  and  discipline;  and  the 
Moslems  were  repulsed,  whenever  they  attempted  to  attack  the 
Christian  camp,  whether  from  the  town  or  from  the  neighboring 
country.  On  one  occasion,  particularly,  they  were  entirely  defeated, 
and,  by  the  vigorous  efforts  of  the  Christian  knights,  experienced 
sucn  slaughter,  as  to  lose  twelve  of  their  generals  called  emirs,  and 
fifteen  hundred  of  their  most  distinguished  warriors,  besides  a  multi- 
tude of  others  who  were  drowned  in  the  river  Orontos. 

Still,  Antioch  continued  to  resist  with  undaunted  obstinacy.  Every 
means  employed  by  the  crusaders  to  batter  its  mighty  bulwarks, 
proved  ineffectual;  and  all  their  efforts  might  ultimately  have  failed, 
but  for  the  following  circumstance.  The  prince  of  Tarentum  had  of 
late  opened  a  secret  correspondence  with  a  Mussulman  officer  named 
Phirouz,  formerly  a  Christian,  who  was  invested  with  the  chief  com- 
mand in  three  of  the  principal  towers  that  defended  Antioch.  By  splen- 
did promises,  Bohemond  succeeded  in  inducing  this  officer  to  deliver 
them  into  the  hands  of  the  Christians.  The  plan  was  concerted  be- 
tween them;  the  darkness  of  a  stormy  night  facilitated  its  execution; 
and  in  a  few  hours  the  whole  army,  being  introduced  into  the  city, 
took  possession  of  it  on  the  third  of  June,  1098.  At  the  break  of 
day,  Bohemond  planted  his  banner  on  one  of  the  highest  towers,  and 
was,  by  common  assent,  acknowledged  sovereign  of  Antioch  and 
its  dependencies,  under  the  title  of  prince. 

The  joy  of  the  crusaders  at  this  valuable  conquest,  was  in  a  very 
short  time  damped,  and  changed  into  distress.  They  had  not  yet 
subdued  the  citadel,  into  which  a  great  part  of  the  garrison  had  re- 
tired, nor  taken  measures  to  procure  the  necessary  supplies  of  provi- 
sions, when  they  saw  themselves  besieged  by  an  army  much  more 
numerous  than  their  own.  It  consisted  of  three  hundred  and  sixty 
thousand  men,  whom  the  Persian  sultan  sent  to  the  relief  of  Antioch, 
under  the  command  of  Kerboga,  prince  of  Mosul.  This  general 
manifested  on  every  occasion  the  greatest  contempt  for  the  crusa- 
ders; and,  having  arrived  too  late  to  preserve  the  city  from  their 
invasion,  he  considered  them  as  so  many  victims  reserved  for  his 
vengeance. 

Every  thing,  at  first,  seemed  to  favor  his  design.  After  a  few 
days,  the  crusaders,  having  consumed  all  the  provisions  in  Antioch, 
were  exposed  to  a  most  dreadful  famine,  so  far  as  to  eat  the  flesh  of 
horses  and  camels,  afterwards  leaves  of  trees,  and  boiled  leather 
Such  was  the  excess  of  their  misery,  that  many  of  these  renowned 
warriors,  even  among  the  barons  and  knights,  after  having  resolutely 
21* 


246  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Part  V. 


endured  a  thousand  other  hardships,  now  lost  courage,  abandoned 
their  colors,  and  fled  from  Antioch.  Both  the  strength  and  resources 
of  those  who  remained,  were  exhausted.  Several  of  the  chief  lords 
themselves  were  reduced  to  absolute  beggary,  and  became  completely 
dependent  on  the  bounty  of  Godfrey  even  for  their  food,  till  he  him- 
self, having  killed  his  last  horse,  had  nothing  more  to  give.  Mourn- 
ing, consternation  and  death  reigned  throughout  Antioch,  and  the 
whole  city  seemed  destined  to  become  the  sepulchre  of  the  Christian 
soldiers;  nor  could  the  princes,  either  by  exertions  or  entreaties, 
stimulate  them  to  new  combats. 

In  this  desperate  state  of  things,  the  evil  suggested  its  remedy. 
The  crusaders,  deprived  of  all  human  assistance,  placed  their  hopes 
in  heaven  ;  and,  in  the  abyss  of  misery  to  which  they  were  reduced, 
they  received  with  the  greatest  alacrity  every  token  and  mark  of  the 
return  of  God's  special  protection,  their  warlike  enthusiasm  being 
particularly  excited,  as  many  authors  relate,  by  the  discovery  of  the 
lance  which  had  pierced  the  side  of  our  Saviour.  In  the  meanwhile, 
Tancred,  ever  foremost  in  heroic  feelings  and  actions,  pledged  him- 
self with  an  oath  not  to  turn  back  from  the  road  to  Jerusalem,  so  long 
as  he  should  be  followed  by  sixty  knights;  and  the  whole  army,  imi- 
tating his  example,  took  the  same  oath.  In  fine,  the  unexpected 
discovery  of  some  provisions  in  the  city  increased  the  confidence  and 
restored  the  strength  of  the  soldiers  of  the  cross.  Their  activity,  reso- 
lution, and  energy  reappeared;  they  felt  in  themselves  the  same  intre- 
pid ardor  which  they  had  displayed  in  former  batiles,  and  loudly 
asked  to  be  led  against  the  enemy. 

The  princes  lost  not  a  moment.  The  gates  of  Antioch  were  thrown 
open,  and  early  on  the  morning  of  the  twenty -ninth  of  June,  one 
hundred  thousand  emaciated  but  brave  warriors  were  seen  marching 
out  with  noble  assurance,  whilst  the  banks  of  the  Orontes  and  the 
neighboring  hills  resounded  with  their  usual  battle  cry,  "God  wills 
it;  God  wills  it."  Kerboga  did  not  imagine,  at  first,  that  the  crusaders 
could  entertain  the  thought  of  fighting,  and  believed  they  were  coming 
to  implore  his  clemency.  His  illusion  having  soon  vanished,  he 
hastened  to  draw  up  his  numberless  squadrons  in  battle  array,  and 
made  several  skilful  movements  for  the  purpose  of  surrounding  the 
comparatively  small  host  of  the  crusaders.  The  Christians,  on  their 
side,  with  little  attention  to  the  ordinary  arts  of  warfare,  continued  to 
march  on,  their  courage  increasing  rather  than  diminishing;  till, 
having  come  within  bowshot  of  the  Persians,  after  the  clarions  and 
trumpets  had  sounded,  both  generals  and  soldiers  rushe-d  against  the 
enemy. 

Then  only  did  Kerboga  and  his  troops  perceive  what  sort  of  hrroes 
were  Tancred,  Godfrey,  Hugh-the-Great,  the  duke  of  Normandy  and 


A.  D.  1095—1099. 


FIRST    CRUSADE.  247 


the  earl  of  Flanders,  whose  swords  flashed  with  the  rapidity  of 
lightning.  In  proportion  as  the  other  chief's  arrived,  they  also  threw 
themselves  into  the  thickest  of  the  battle;  and  the  fight  had  scarcely 
lasted  one  hour,  when  the  infidels  began  to  waver.  They  endea- 
vored, but  in  vain  to  stop  the  Christian  soldiers  by  setting  the  weeds 
on  fire;  nothing  could  damp  the  enthusiasm  of  the  crusaders:  the 
Persian  columns  were  driven  forward,  broken  and  routed  with  dread- 
ful slaughter.  In  vain  too  did  their  most  courageous  warriors  attempt 
to  rally  upon  a  hill  behind  a  deep  raving;  the  Christian  knights,  hur- 
ried on  by  almost  superhuman  valor,  followed  them  across  the  pre- 
cipice, and  their  victorious  swords  destroyed  all  who  dared  wait  their 
approach.  The  Persians  were  scattered  in  every  direction  through 
the  woods  and  hollows;  and  the  banks  of  the  Orontes,  the  mountains, 
the  plains,  appeared  covered  with  fugitives  abandoning  their  colors 
and  throwing  aside  their  arms.  The  haughty  Kerboga  himself,  who 
had  promised  the  sultan  the  entire  defeat  of  the  Christians,  and  who 
had,  in  anticipation  of  that  event,  prepared  a  great  quantity  of  fetters 
for  his  prisoners,  fled  towards  the  Euphrates  with  a  few  horsemen, 
leaving  a  hundred  thousand  of  his  bravest  soldiers  on  the  field  of 
battle.  The  loss  of  the  conquerors  was  ten,  or,  according  to  several 
historians,  only  four  thousand. 

Immense  was  the  booty  in  gold,  arms,  rich  vestments,  horses,  cat- 
tle and  provisions,  which  the  crusaders  found  in  the  Persian  camp. 
The  whole  army,  loaded  with  wealth  and  rejoicing  in  their  abun- 
dance, entered  once  more  within  the  walls  of  Antioch,  and  made  the 
air  resound  with  their  thanksgivings  for  the  triumph  which  they  had 
obtained.  To  the  Saracens  themselves  this  victory  of  the  Christians 
seemed  so  wonderful,  that  many  were  induced,  on  that  account,  to 
abandon  the  religion  of  Mahomet.  They  who  defended  the  citadel 
of  Antioch,  struck  with  astonishment  and  terror,  surrendered,  in  the 
very  evening  of  the  battle,  to  Count  Raymond  who  had  been  left  to 
guard  the  town;  three  hundred  of  them  embraced  Christianity;  and 
several  went  through  the  cities  of  Syria,  every  where  publishing  that 
the  God  of  the  Christians  was  the  only  true  God. 

The  way  towards  Jerusalem  was  now  left  free;  the  princes,  how- 
ever, for  the  sake  of  granting  to  their  troops  a  necessary  repose, 
thought  proper  to  postpone  their  further  advance  till  the  next  spring. 
In  that  interval,  a  pestilence  broke  out  among  the  crusaders,  sweep- 
ing off  not  only  thousands  of  the  less  cautious  multitudes,  but  also 
many  illustrious  knights,  and  the  venerable  bishop  of  Puy,  whose 
noble  qualities  of  mind  and  heart  had  given  much  dignity  and  strength 
to  the  enterprise.  Another  sad  effect  of  the  delay  just  mentioned, 
was  that  it  enabled  the  Egyptian  caliph  to  turn  the  losses  of  the 
Turks  to  his  own  profit:  driving  them  from  Jerusalem,  whilst  he 


248  MODERN  HISTORY  Prtrt  v 

amused  the  leaders  of  the  crusading  host  with  proposals  of  alliance, 
he  took  possession  of  the  Holy  City.  It  was  therefore  against  this 
new  enemy  that  the  Christians  had  to  fight  during  the  last  period  of 
the  crusade  (A.  D.  1099). 

The  time  appointed  for  their  departure  from  Antioch  at  length 
arrived.  They  advanced  along  the  fertile  coasts  of  Phoenicia,  and 
then  through  the  desolate  lands  of  Palestine,  without  finding  much 
resistance;  at  length,  on  the  seventh  of  June,  Jerusalem  lay  before 
their  eyes.  No  one  can  sufficiently  describe  the  pious  transports 
which,  on  the  appearance  of  the  Holy  City,  the  remembrance  of  our 
Saviour's  passion  and  death  excited  in  every  bosom,  and  their  feelings 
of  indignation  at  beholding  Jerusalem  in  the  hands  of  the  infidels. 
The  army  marched  on  in  haste,  driving  back  some  parties  of  Sara- 
cens, and  almost  immediately  made  so  vigorous  an  assault,  that  the 
town  would  probably  have  been  taken  at  the  first  onset,  but  for  want 
of  ladders  and  other  necessary  instruments.  After  many  had  fallen 
on  each  side  to  no  effect,  the  attack  was  suspended,  and  all  the  ener- 
gies of  the  crusaders  were  employed  in  constructing  wooden  towers, 
catapults,  battering  rams  and  other  warlike  engines. 

During  the  fabrication  of  these  machines,  a  deadly  drought  afflicted 
the  army.  For  many  days,  the  soldiers  of  the  cross  again  experi- 
enced all  the  inconveniences  of  heat  and  thirst;  and  their  number, 
already  so  much  diminished  by  previous  plagues,  diseases,  desertions, 
battles,  and  garrisons  left  in  various  places,  became  reduced  to  about 
forty  thousand,  one  fourth  of  whom  were  unable  to  fight.  The  gar- 
rison alone  of  Jerusalem  was  more  numerous  than  the  whole  army 
of  the  crusade;  the  town  too  was  defended  by  strong  fortifications, 
and  supplied  with  all  things  requisite  for  a  long  resistance. 

So  many  obstacles,  instead  of  abating,  seemed  rather  to  increase 
the  ardor  of  the  Christians;  and,  as  soon  as  the  engines  were  com- 
pleted, the  attack  was  renewed.  Early  in  the  morning  of  the  four- 
teenth of  July,  towers,  mangonels  and  battering  rams  moved  all  at 
once  against  three  different  parts  of  the  wall,  and  began  to  cast  a 
shower  of  arrows  and  stones,  and  to  make  a  breach.  Language 
cannot  describe  the  violence  of  this  first  shock.  Like  the  princes, 
who  fought  all  that  day  from  the  platform  of  their  wooden  towers, 
the  multitude  of  the  assailants  fearlessly  braved  all  kinds  of  perils; 
but,  in  return,  the  Saracens  obstinately  opposed  them  at  every  point, 
and,  being  abundantly  furnished  with  darts,  boiling  oil,  and  Grecian 
fire,  spread  ruin  and  dismay  among  the  Christians.  Thus  passed 
that  whole  day  in  one  of  the  most  tremendous  encounters  that  the 
cmsaders  had  ever  sustained;  night  came  on,  and  the  besiegers  re-en- 
tered their  camp,  burning  with  indignation  because  the  city  was  not 
taken. 


A.  D.  1095-1099.  FIRST    CRUSADE.  249 

On  the  following  day,  a  new  attempt  was  made  to  storm  tne  city. 
During  the  whole  morning,  thousands  of  darts  were  heard  continually 
whizzing  through  the  air;  beams  and  rocks,  thrown  by  the  engines, 
dashed  against  one  another,  and  fell  with  a  frightful  crash  upon  the 
assailants.  Many  of  them  had  already  been  killed,  or  received  deep 
wounds  at  the  foot  of  the  ramparts;  the  others  were  almost  exhausted; 
whilst  the  Saracens,  on  the  contrary,  seemed  to  fight  with  renewed 
vigor.  At  that  moment,  Raymond  and  Godfrey,  though  placed  at  a 
great  distance  from  each  other,  suddenly  exclaimed  that  they  saw  a 
celestial  warrior  coming  to  their  assistance,  and  giving  a  signal  to 
enter  the  town.  This  instantly  revived  the  fainting  hopes  of  the 
Christians;  prodigious  efforts  were  made  on  all  sides;  the  tower 
of  Godfrey,  in  spite  of  a  shower  of  darts  and  Grecian  fire,  was  rolled 
forward  till  it  touched  the  wall ;  and,  a  moveable  bridge  being  let 
down,  two  illustrious  brothers,  Letold  and  Engelbert  of  Tournai, 
immediately  sprang  upon  the  battlements.  They  were  followed  by 
the  intrepid  duke  and  other  knights,  who  bore  down  upon  the  Sara- 
cens with  irresistible  force,  and  rushed  after  them  into  the  very  streets 
of  Jerusalem.  Tancred,  with  the  earl  of  Flanders  and  the  duke  of 
Normandy,  imitated  their  example  in  another  quarter;  while  Raymond 
of  Toulouse,  almost  at  the  same  instant,  forced  his  way  into  the  toAvn 
by  scaling  the  walls.  Thus  was  the  Holy  City,  after  exertions  of  the 
most  heroic  fortitude,  at  length  taken  by  the  Christians,  on  a  Friday, 
at  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon;  a  circumstance  which  has  been 
carefully  noticed,  as  coinciding  with  the  day  and  hour  in  which  our 
Saviour  expired  on  the  cross. 

Most  terrible  were  the  first  moments  of  victory.  The  crusaders, 
exasperated  by  their  long  sufferings  and  by  the  obstinate  resistance 
of  the  Saracens,  and  being  also  probably  afraid  of  new  dangers,  put 
to  the  sword  nearly  all  the  garrison  and  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem. 
The  streets,  the  mosques  and  the  citadel  were  filled  with  blood,  and  the 
number  of  the  slain  is  estimated  by  many  to  have  been  at  least  seventy 
thousand. 

After  this  bloody  scene,  the  conquerors  exhibited  a  spectacle  more 
consonant  to  the  mild  spirit  of  Christianity.  Assuming  the  robe  of 
penitents,  and  going  up  to  the  holy  sepulchre,  they  bedewed  with 
their  tears  the  spot  consecrated  by  the  sufferings  and  death  of  our 
Blessed  Redeemer.  The  princes  afterwards  directed  their  attention 
to  the  appointment  of  a  king,  for  the  defence  and  preservation  ot 
Jerusalem ;  and  the  brave,  the  generous,  the  virtuous  duke  of  Lor- 
raine, Godfrey,  was  chosen  by  unanimous  consent.  For  the  sake 
of  the  public  good,  he  modestly  acceptod  the  distinguished  task 
intrusted  to  him;  but  constantly  refused  the  diadem  and  other  insignia 


250  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Part  V 


of  royalty,  saying  that  he  would  never  consent  to  wear  a  golden 
crown,  where  the  Saviour  of  the  world  had  been  crowned  with  thorns. 
Scarcely  was  Godfrey  proclaimed  king,  when  certain  information 
arrived  of  the  approach  of  a  powerful  army  sent  by  the  caliph  of 
Egypt  against  the  crusaders.  The  new  sovereign  and  his  undaunted 
knights  instantly  took  the  determination  to  meet  the  foe  half-way, 
which  they  did  with  as  much  alacrity  as  if  they  had  been  going  to  a 
feast.  After  a  few  days,  they  met  the  enemy  in  the  vast  plains  of 
Ascalon,  near  the  sea.  Notwithstanding  the  great  disparity  between 
the  opposite  forces,  the  host  of  the  crusade  having  been  reduced  to 
twenty  thousand  men,  whilst  the  Egyptians  and  their  allies  amounted 
to  about  four  hundred  thousand,  the  Christians  gained,  with  less  dif- 
ficulty than  on  any  former  occasion,  a  complete  victory.  In  a  few 
moments,  and  with  the  loss  of  but  a  few  soldiers,  they  strewed  the 
plain  with  ninety  thousand  dead  bodies  of  the  Egyptian  army,  and 
dispersed  the  rest.  The  enemy,  says  a  contemporary  historian,  fell 
under  their  swords,  as  the  grass  falls  in  the  harvest  before  the 
mower  j*  or,  to  use  the  words  of  a  great  poet,  fled  at  their  approach, 
as  clouds  are  seen  flying  through  the  air,  when  driven  before  the 
northern  blast.f  The  victorious  army,  after  gathering  an  immense 
quantity  of  spoils,  returned  in  triumph  to  Jerusalem. 


GENERAL  VIEW  OF  THE  FIRST  CRUSADE.— RETURN  OF 
THE   CRUSADERS. 


SUCH  was  the  result  of  the  first  crusade,  one  of  the  most  heroic 
enterprises  and  most  brilliant  expeditions  of  all  ancient  and  modern 
history;  one  which,  notwithstanding  the  accidental  interference  of 
human  passions,  was  sustained  by  the  loftiest  and  noblest  motives 
that  ever  animated  an  army,  and  was  at  length  brought  to  a  happy 
issue  by  prodigies  of  valor  and  feats  worthy  of  eternal  remembrance. 
We  behold  in  it  a  multitude  of  warriors,  knights  and  prinr.es  leaving 
their  country  and  their  homes,  their  estates  and  their  dignities,  for 
the  sake  of  religion  and  of  humanity.  We  see  them  cheerfully  ex- 
posing themselves  to  all  the  dangers  of  a  long  and  distant  expedition  j 

*  dpud  Michaut,  Hist,  des  Croisades,  vol.  i,  pp.  475-76. 
•j-  La  Palestine  enfin,  apres  tant  de  ravages, 
Vit  fuir  ses  ennemis,  comme  on  voit  les  nuages 
Dans  le  vague  des  airs  fuir  devant  I'Aquilon ; 
Et  des  vents  du  midi  la  de"vorante  haleine 

N'a  consume*  qu'  a  peine 
Leurs  ossemens  blanchis  dans  les  champs  d'Ascalon. 

J.  B.  RousSeau,  Ode  against  the  Tiirki. 


GENERAL  VIEW  OF  THE  FIRST  CRUSADE.  251 

undergoing  the  fatigues  of  a  painful  march,  the  severity  of  the  wea- 
ther or  the  excessive  heat  of  the  climate,  famine,  thirst  and  conta 
gious  distempers;  and  still,  almost  continually  fighting  against  the 
Turks,  the  Persians  and  other  foes;  frequently  too  against  their  own 
imprudence,  and  the  dangers  occasioned  by  the  quarrels  of  the  lea- 
ders or  the  want  of  discipline  among  the  troops.  We  see  them, 
through  the  various  vicissitudes  of  the  crusade,  surmounting  all  these 
obstacles,  conquering  all  their  enemies,  and,  at  last,  bringing  their 
enterprise  to  a  fortunate  conclusion.  What  warlike  achievement  is 
more  deserving  of  the  admiration  of  posterity? 

Nor  can  it  be  objected,  that  the  success  of  the  crusaders  was 
owing  to  their  overwhelming  numbers;  this  circumstance  proved 
rather  a  disadvantage,  on  account  of  the  difficulty  they  had  to 
procure  a  sufficient  quantity  of  provisions  in  an  unknown  country. 
Moreover,  their  number  was  soon  greatly  diminished  by  desertion, 
famine,  disease  and  battles;  so  that,  in  the  end,  they  were  far  less 
numerous  than  their  enemies.  It  is  true,  many  bodies  of  fresh  troops 
were  successively  sent  from  Europe  to  their  assistance;  but  none  of 
them  arrived,  having  all  been  destroyed  before  reaching  Syria,  either 
by  starvation,  or  by  the  swords  of  the  Turks.  Hence,  the  success 
of  the  first  crusade  could  be  attributed  to  no  other  cause  than  the  he- 
roic patience,  constancy  and  intrepidity  which  the  crusaders  evinced, 
during  three  years,  not  only  in  a  great  number  of  particular  combats, 
but  chiefly  during  the  sieges  of  Nice,  Antioch  and  Jerusalem,  and 
in  the  great  battles  at  Dorylamm,  at  the  Orontes  and  at  Ascalon, 
against  all  the  forces  of  Asia  and  Africa. 

After  this  last  victory,  which  secured  their  conquests  and  crowned 
all  their  exploits,  most  of  the  crusaders  thought  of  returning  to  Eu- 
rope. Count  Raymond,  however,  did  not  proceed  farther  than  Con- 
stantinople; but  being  invested  by  the  emperor  Alexius  with  princely 
jurisdiction  over  the  territory  of  Laodicea,lie  retraced  his  steps  into 
Syria,  to  take  possession  of  this  new  state.  Baldwin  and  Bohemond 
were  already  settled  in  their  principalities  of  Edessa  and  Antioch. 
Robert  of  Flanders  and  Robert  of  Normandy  reached  their  European 
dominions,  and  were  received  with  great  joy  by  their  vassals  and  sub- 
jects; but  the  latter,  having  imprudently  undertaken  to  dethrone  his 
brother  Henry  I,  king  of  England,  was  taken  prisoner,  and,  being 
unable  to  recover  his  liberty,  died  after  many  years  of  severe  confine- 
ment! Peter  the  Hermit  also  re-visited  his  native  country,  and,  retir- 
ing to  a  monastery  founded  by  himself,  lived  sixteen  years  in  the 
practice  of  the  most  edifying  virtues.  As  to  Hugh-the-Great  and 
Stephen  of  Blois,  having  departed  from  the  East  before  the  end  of 
the  crusade,  shame  and  public  discontent  compelled  them  to  go  back 
to  Asia,  where  they  both  fell  whilst  fighting  against  the  infidels. 


252  MODERN    HISTORY.  Parl  Vj 

Among  the  other  knights  who  returned  to  France,  history  has  not 
forgotten  two  noble  twin-brothers,  Stephen  and  Peter  of  Salviac, 
whom  their  own  age  admired  as  models  of  fraternal  affection.  Peter 
having  taken  the  cross  in  the  council  of  Clermont,  Stephen,  though 
authorized  by  many  just  reasons  to  remain  at  home,  determined  to 
follow  his  brother,  and  to  share  with  him  all  the  perils  of  the  crusade. 
In  battles,  they  always  stood  side  by  side ;  and  they  fought  together 
at  the  sieges  of  Nice,  Antioch  and  Jerusalem.  A  short  time  after 
their  return  from  the  East,  they  both  died  in  the  same  week,  and  the 
same  sepulchre  received  their  mortal  remains;  their  tomb  bears  an 
inscription  transmitting  to  posterity  the  remembrance  of  their  exploits 
and  of  their  admirable  friendship. 


KINGDOM  OF  JERUSALEM.— A.  D.  1095—1144. 

BY  the  death  or  departure  of  most  of  the  crusaders,  the  new  king 
dom  of  Jerusalem  was  left  to  be  supported  by  the  wisdom  of  Godfrey 
and  the  sword  of  Tancred,  with  an  army  of  less  than  three  thousand 
men.  Fortunately,  this  want  of  forces  did  not  last  long;  fresh  bands 
of  crusaders  daily  arrived  from  Europe,  and  the  new  sovereign  was 
enabled,  not  only  to  defend,  but  also  to  enlarge  his  conquests.  He 
at  the  same  time  compiled  and  published,  for  the  improvement  of  his 
rising  state,  an  admirable  code  of  laws,  under  the  title  of  "Jissises  de 
Jerusalem,"  and  promoted  or  patronised  many  establishments  equally 
beneficial  to  religion  and  social  order,  above  all,  the  Hospitallers  of 
St.  John  of  Jerusalem,  who  afterwards  became  so  much  renowned 
as  the  Knights  of  Malta.* 

*  Their  first  origin  dated  from  the  year  1043,  when  certain  merchants  of 
the  city  of  Amalphi  in  the  kingdom  of  Naples,  trading  in  the  Levant,  ob- 
tained leave  from  the  Saracen  caliph  to  build  a  house  at  Jerusalem  for  pil- 
grims, on  the  condition  of  paying  an  annual  tribute.  Shortly  after,  they 
founded  in  honor  of  St.  John  the  Baptist,  a  church  and  an  hospital,  from 
which  they  took  their  name;  and  being  exceedingly  favored  by  Godfrey 
and  his  successors,  they  enlarged  their  benevolent  projects,  and,  besides  at- 
tending the  sick  and  pilgrims  with  the  utmost  care  and  assiduity,  bound 
themselves  by  a  vow  to  defend  all  Christians  in  the  Holy  Land  against  the 
attacks  and  insults  of  infidels.  By  this  noble  determination,  the  Hos- 
pitallers, without  ceasing  to  be  a  religious,  became  a  military  order,  and  a 
permanent  body  of  sacred  soldiery,  which  conferred  innumerable  services 
on  the  kings  of  Jerusalem  and  on  all  Christendom. 

The  Knights  Templars  were  instituted  in  1118,  also  at  Jerusalem,  by 
some  French  and  Flemish  noblemen,  for  nearly  the  same  purposes  as  the 
Knights  Hospitallers,  but  under  a  plan  and  rule  somewhat  different.  They 
uerived  their  name  from  the  first  house  which  they  possessed  in  the  holy 
city,  it  being  situated  near  the  site  of  the  temple  of  Solomon.  Th*  Teu- 


*.  D.  1095-1144.      KINGDOM  OF    JERUSALEM.  253 

These  numerous  achievements  were  performed  by  Godfrey  within 
the  short  space  of  one  year.  On  his  return  from  a  distant  expedition, 
he  was  seized  with  a  severe  illness,  and  died  on  the  eighteenth  of  July 
of  the  year  1100,  leaving  behind  him  so  unblemished  a  reputation 
of  wisdom,  courage  and  virtue,  that  his  name,  equally  extolled  by 
history  and  poetry,  will  ever  live  in  the  memory  of  men,  as  the 
brightest  ornament  of  the  first  crusade.  From  his  earliest  years,  his 
father,  one  of  the  greatest  warriors  of  that  age,  taught  him,  by  theory 
and  practice,  how  to  excel  in  the  profession  of  arms.  His  mother,  a 
very  pious  lady,  impressed  on  his  tender  mind  the  maxims  of  our 
holy  faith,  which  he  ever  afterwards  observed,  even  at  the  head  of 
armies,  with  as  much  regularity  as  if  he  had  been  in  a  religious 
house,  always  commencing  and  concluding  his  enterprises  with  acts 
of  religion.  Free  from  ambition  and  other  human  weaknesses,  his 
views  were  always  perfectly  disinterested,  his  feelings  always  gene- 
rous, his  morals  always  pure;  and  not  only  did  he  thus  constantly 
present  a  perfect  model  of  honor  and  virtue,  but  the  troops  also 
which  he  commanded,  were,  during  the  whole  crusade,  distin- 
guished above  all  others  for  their  excellent  order  and  discipline 
Never  was  there  indeed  a  more  admirable  model  of  Christian  chi- 
valry ;  nor  did  fabulous  antiquity  ever  picture  to  itself  so  accomplished 
a  hero  as  Godfrey  of  Bouillon.  He  prepared  for  death  with  the  same 
piety  and  fortitude  of  mind  that  he  had  evinced  during  life;  and,  in 
his  last  moments,  recommended  to  his  knights  the  promotion  of  the 
divine  glory  and  the  defence  of  the  Holy  Land.  The  Christians, 
overwhelmed  with  grief,  buried  him  near  the  holy  sepulchre,  the  pre- 
servation of  which  was  so  dear  to  his  heart ;  and  the  Saracens  them 
selves  shed  tears  over  the  tomb  of  a  prince,  whom  they  were  obliged 
to  acknowledge,  notwithstanding  the  difference  of  religion,  to  have 
been  at  once  the  mildest  and  the  greatest  of  their  sovereigns.* 

tonic  order  owed  its  establishment  to  some  nobles  from  the  cities  of  Bremen 
and  Lubec,  who  assisted  at  the  siege  of  Ptolemais  in  .1190,  and  was  in- 
tended for  the  relief  of  German  pilgrims.  There  were  also  three  military 
orders  founded  in  Spain  alone,  viz.  the  orders  of  St.  James,  Alcantara  and 
Calatrava;  and  one,  that  of  Avis,  in  Portugal. 

*  To  enable  the  reader  more  fully  to  appreciate  the  incomparable  merit 
of  Godfrey  of  Bouillon,  we  may  be  allowed  to  adduce,  from   authentic 
sources,  some  particular  instances  of  his  wonderful  strength,  generosity 
•  and  piety. 

During  the  siege  of  Nice,  a  certain  Turk  of  gigantic  stature  signalized 
himself  by  the  immense  slaughter  he  made  of  the  Christians,  throwing 
upon  them  large  fragments  of  rocks  from  the  wall.  -Godfrey  advanced, 
and  shooting  an  arrow  with  a  vigorous  hand,  sent  the  weapon  directly  tc 
his  heart,  and  left  him  dead  on  the  battlement. — During  the  stay  of  the 
army  in  Asia  Minor,  riding  out  on  horseback  in  a  wood,  he  saw  a  huge 
bear  about  to  kill  a  poor  soldier  who  was  gathering  sticks.  Regardless  of 

2-2 


254  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Part  T. 


The  first  successors  of  Godfrey  in  the  kingdom  of  Jerusalem,  were 
Baldwin  I,  his  brother,  and  Baldwin  II,  his  cousin.  Both  of  them 
prosecuted,  with  great  vigor,  the  glorious  work  which  he  had 
commenced;  and,  notwithstanding  some  defeats,  they  gained  consi- 
derable advantages  over  the  Saracens.  Strong  and  important  cities 
were  successively  conquered,  and  the  Christians  now  possessed  in 
Asia  four  extensive  princedoms,  Jerusalem,  Antioch,  Edessa  and  Tri- 
poli. The  Greeks  too  strove  continually  to  recover  some  of  their  former 
possessions  in  Asia  Minor  and  Syria;  and,  on  many  occasions,  under 
their  warlike  and  skilful  emperors  Alexius  and  his  son,  John  Corn- 
nenus,  success  accompanied  their  efforts.  Had  the  forces  of  the 
empire  been  at  that  time  united  with  those  of  the  Latins,  the  Turks 
might  have  been  totally  expelled  from  those  envied  regions.  Unfor- 
tunately, mutual  diffidence  always  kept  the  two  powers  at  a  distance 
from  each  other;  and,  what  was  more  unfortunate  still,  after  the 
death  of  Baldwin  II  in  1131,  jealousy,  animosity  and  violent  dissen- 
sions began  to  arise  among  the  Latin  princes  themselves. 

From  this  time,  therefore,  the  prosperity  of  the  Christian  states 

his  own  danger,  the  generous  duke  rode  up,  and  seizing  one  of  the  paws 
of  the  ferocious  beast  with  his  left  hand,  with  the  right  plunged  his  sword 
into  its  body  to  the  very  hilt. — In  the  field,  nothing  could  resist  the  edge  of 
his  sword ;  helmets  and  cuirasses  were  broken  by"  it  to  pieces.  In  one  of 
the  battles  which  preceded  the  capture  of  Antioch,  a  Saracen  officer  of  ex- 
traordinary size  and  bravery  singled  him  out  as  the  object  of  attack.  God- 
frey, indignant  at  such  boldness,  raised  himself  in  his  stirrup,  and  rushing 
against  his  opponent,  aimed  a  blow  which  cut  the  Saracen  in  twain.  The 
upper  part  of  the  body  fell  to  the  earth ;  but  the  headless  trunk,  being  tied 
to  the  saddle,  remained  on  the  horse,  and  was  thus  carried  into  Antioch, 
where  the  awful  sight  spread  terror  and  consternation  among  the  Turks.  In 
fine,  such  was  the  strength  of  the  duke  of  Lorraine,  that,  being  once  re- 
quested by  some  Saracen  emirs  to  display  it  in  their  presence,  he  with  one 
blow,  severed  the  head  of  a  camel  from  the  body. 

On  the  other  hand,  such  was  his  moderation,  that  he  never  undertook 
to  vindicate  by  force  mere  private  rights,  or  to  avenge  personal  injuries, 
his  sword,  he  used  to  remark, being  destined  to  spill  the  blood,  not  of  Chris- 
tians, but  of  infidels,  and  that,  only  in  unavoidable  battles.  At  the  taking 
of  Jerusalem,  a  success  owing  chiefly  to  his  intrepid  valor,  he  no  sooner 
saw  victory  declare  in  favor  of  the  Christians,  than  he  ceased  fighting,  laid 
aside  his  armor,  and  hastened  to  visit  the  holy  sepulchre  with  the  most  edi- 
fying piety;  an  example  which  was  soon  imitated  by  all  the  crusaders. 
Mild  and  innocent  as  a  lamb  in  the  ordinary  course  of  life,  he  was  like  a 
lion  on  the  field  of  battle.  Whilst  the  other  princes  respected  him  as  a 
perfect  model  of  Christian  chivalry,  the  multitude  loved  him  as  the  best  of 
fathers ;  and  his  servants  being  asked,  before  the  election  of  a  king  of  Je- 
rusalem, about  his  private  character,  could  say  nothing  against  him,  except 
that  he  remained  too  long  in  church  after  the  divine  offices;  in  consequence 
of  which,  they  complained,  his  dinner  frequently  grew  cold,  and  bocume 
almost  good  for  nothing.  This  was  the  only  fault  that  could  be  found  in 
the  whole  conduct  of  Godfrey. 


D.  1145—1149. 


SECOND  CRUSADE.  255 


began  to  decline  in  the  East.  The  Moslems  scattered  through  the 
country  took  advantage  of  every  new  dispute  among  the  conquerors, 
to  harass  them  with  a  desultory  warfare.  At  length,  Zenghi,  sultan 
of  Aleppo  and  Mosul,  attacked,  stormed  and  took  Edessa  in  1144; 
after  which  his  son  Nouradin,  pursuing  the  same  line  of  policy 
against  the  Christians,  began  to  threaten  their  other  possessions  in 
the  East.  The  news  of  these  calamitous  events  being  spread  abroad, 
gave  occasion  to  the 


SECOND   CRUSADE.— A.  D.  1145—1149. 


DEPUTIES  had  been  sent  in  haste  from  Syria  to  Europe,  for  the 
purpose  of  obtaining  necessary  auxiliaries.  Immediately  after  their 
arrival,  the  crusade  was  preached  under  the  direction  of  Pope  Euge- 
nius  III,  by  the  celebrated  abbot  of  Clairvaux,  St.  Bernard,  whose 
eloquent  exhortations,  supported  by  great  miracles,  had  exactly  the 
same  effect  which  the  exertions  of  Peter  the  Hermit  had  produced 
fifty  years  before.  Such  was  the  excitement  produced  in  France  and 
Germany,  that  King  Louis  the  Youngef  and  the  emperor  Conrad 
III  took  the  cross,  with  all  the  choicest  men  of  both  nations,  so  as  to 
form  in  a  very  short  time  two  powerful  armies.  The  Germans  alone 
brought  to  the  field  seventy  thousand  horsemen  with  coats  of  mail, 
besides  light  cavalry  and  the  infantry.  The  French  host  consisted 
of  a  hundred  thousand  warriors.  These  forces  were  more  than  suf- 
ficient to  repair  the  losses  suffered  by  the  Christians  in  the  East,  and 
to  foil  all  the  attempts  of  their  enemies;  but,  such  was  the  perfidy 
of  the  Greeks,  and  the  want  of  discipline  among  the  Latins,  that  no 
great  enterprise  ever  failed  so  completely  as  the  second  crusade. 

Both  armies  started  in  the  year  1147.  The  Germans,  being  the 
first  to  reach  the  neighborhood  of  Constantinople,  began  to  experi- 
ence the  ill-will  of  the  Greeks,  which,  it  must  be  confessed,  they 
sometimes  provoked  by  their  predatory  and  disorderly  acts.  The 
emperor  himself,  Manuel  Comnenus,  is  generally  charged  with 
having,  under  the  veil  of  friendship,  contrived  against  them  a  variety 
of  perfidious  practices.  This  at  least  is  certain,  that  the  crusaders, 
without  experience  against  cunning,  were  deprived  by  the  Greek 
population  of  their  money  and  of  the  means  of  procuring  necessary 
provisions;  whilst,  on  the  other  hand  bodies  of  soldiers  attacked 
them  when  marching  through  narrow  defiles.  In  fine,  treacherous 
or  unskilful  guides  led  them  through  the  wild  paths  of  Cappadocig. 
where  they  had  to  endure  all  the  horrors  of  a  cruel  famine,  and  at 
last  saw  themselves,  surrounded  by  the  Turks.  The  heavy-armed 


256  MODERN    HISTORY.  Part  v. 

Germans  in  vain  endeavored  to  reach  the  Turkish  cavalry.  All  their 
courage  could  not  protect  them  against  numberless  foes,  who  fled 
and  rallied  with  surprising  quickness,  attacked  their  exhausted  squad 
rons  from  the  tops  of  the  mountains,  and  harassed  them  by  continual 
skirmishes.  It  became  absolutely  necessary  to  retreat  towards  Bithy- 
nia,  under  an  incessant  shower  of  arrows,  every  day  adding  thou- 
sands to  the  number  of  the  slain.  Conrad  himself  received  two 
wounds;  and  when,  at  length,  he  reached  the  city  of  Nice,  he  could 
scarcely  gather  around  him  a  tenlh  part  of  the  knights  and  soldiers 
who  had  followed  him  from  Europe. 

The  French,  under  the  conduct  of  Louis,  had  less  perhaps  to  suf- 
fer from  the  Greeks,  and  yet  were  not  less  unfortunate  than  the 
Germans.  Victorious  at  first  on  the  banks  of  the  Meander,  which 
was  crossed  in  spite  of  all  the  efforts  of  the  Turks,  they  experienced, 
after  a  few  days,  a  signal  overthrow  near  the  town  of  Laodicea  in 
Phrygia.  This  disaster  was  brought  upon  the  Christian  army  by 
the  imprudence  of  a  single  general.  On  coming  near  a  steep  moun- 
tain, the  commander  of  the  van-guard  had  received  orders  from  the 
king  to  halt  on  the  summit,  and  there  wait  for  the  rest  of  the  army. 
Disregarding  this  just  command,  the  incautious  man,  after  accom- 
plishing the  ascent,  advanced  into  the  plain  on  the  other  side,  two  or 
three  miles  beyond  the  spot  specified :  in  the  mean  time,  the  Turks, 
who  had  remarked  the  terrible  mistake,  occupied  the  hill,  and  thus 
totally  intercepted  the  two  divisions  of  the  crusaders. 

Such  was  the  perilous  position  of  the  French  army,  when  the  rear, 
commanded  by  the  king  in  person,  and  as  yet  unaware  of  its  danger, 
began  to  climb  the  mountain  in  full  security  and  without  any  pre- 
caution against  an  attack.  On  a  sudden,  as  they  Were  toiling  up  the 
steep  acclivity,  a  shower  of  arrows  from  the  top  of  the  hill  fell  upon 
them,  spreading  indescribable  confusion  and  dismay.  Numbers  were 
precipitated  headlong  down  the  precipice,  or  killed  by  the  masses  of 
rocks  hurled  against  them;  others,  who  had  nearly  reached  the  sum- 
mit, were  forced  back  by  the  victorious  enemy  upon  those  in  the 
rear.  It  was  in  vain  that  Louis,  at  the  head  of  his  cavalry,  endea- 
vored to  protect  the  infantry,  and  repel  the  Turks  :  the  steepness  of 
the  ascent,  and  the  fierceness  of  the  foes  rendered  the  contest  too  un- 
equal; men  and  horses  fell  together,  and  the  king  himself  was  in 
imminent  danger  of  being  killed;  but  springing  upon  a  rock  and 
leaning  against  a  tree,  he  defended  himself  with  his  trusty  sword 
against  several  Turks,  till,  at  the  approach  of  night,  they  withdrew 
and  thus  permitted  him  to  rejoin  his  surviving  troops. 

After  these  losses,  and  others  which  the  Greeks  and  the  Turlcs 
continued  to  inflict  on  them,  both  Louis  and  Conrad  put  to  sea,  in 
order  to  reach  Palestine.  Being  arrived  at  Jerusalem,  all  the  princes 


D.  1153-1189. 


GERMANY,    ETC.  257 


there  present  were  summoned  to  assemble  in  counci,  ;  and  it  was 
agreed  that,  instead  of  attempting  to  reconquer  Edessa,  which  had 
been  the  original  object  of  the  crusade,  the  Christian  forces  of  Syria, 
united  with  the  crusaders,  should  undertake  the  siege  of  Damascus 
(A.  D.  1148).  The  monarchs  immediately  took  the  field,  approached 
the  town,  drove  before  them  the  advanced  bodies  of  Saracens,  and 
began  the  siege  with  so  great  a  vigor,  that  all  entertained  a  moral 
certainty  of  success.  All  at  once,  jealousies  and  quarrels  among  the 
Jords  disturbed  the  Christian  camp  ;  former  animosities  were  revived, 
and  treason  being  added  to  all  these  evils,  the  siege  was  finally  aban- 
doned. At  length,  Conrad  and  Louis,  full  of  regret  and  indignation, 
left  the  Latin  princes  of  Asia  to  their  own  wretched  dissensions, 
and  departed  for  Europe. 

The  ill  success  of  the  second  crusade  spread  mourning  over  all  the 
West,  and  was  felt  particularly  in  France,  where  loud  complaints 
were  lodged  against  St.  Bernard,  as  the  chief  promoter  of  this  fatal 
enterprise.  The  holy  abbot,  in  a  written  apology,  triumphantly  vin- 
dicated his  conduct,  showing,  with  equal  modesty  and  strength  of 
reasoning,  that,  exactly  as  the  Hebrews  of  old  more  than  once  failed, 
through  their  own  fault,  even  in  designs  approved  by  God,  so  also, 
in  the  present  instance,  the  blame  was  to  be  laid,  not  on  the  promo- 
ter of  the  crusade,  but  on  the  crusaders  themselves,  on  their  disorders 
and  want  of  discipline,  which  had  drawn  upon  them  the  avenging 
justice  of  the  Almighty.*  Shortly  after  (A.  D.  1153),  St.  Bernard 
departed  this  life,  at  the  age  of  sixty-three,  having  deserved,  by  his 
eloquence,  sanctity,  immense  labors  for  religion,  and  the  excellency 
of  his  writings,  to  be  numbered  among  the  most  illustrious  Fathers 
of  the  Church. 


GERMANY  AND  ITALY  UNDER  FREDERIC  I  (BARBAROS- 
S A). —ENGLAND  AND  IRELAND  UNDER  HENRY  II  (PLAN- 
TAGENET).— A.  D.  1153—1189. 


CONRAD  lived  three  years  after  his  return  from  Palestine;  at  his 
death  in  1152,  he  left  the  crown  to  Frederic  Barbarossa,  his  nephew, 
a  prince  of  great  learning,  ability  and  courage,  but  proud,  haughty 
and  ambitious.  Wishing,  like  the  first  Roman  emperors,  to  be  con- 
sidered sovereign  of  the  whole  world,  he  made  powerful  efforts. 

*  Sec  St.  Bernard  himself,  De  Considerations,  lib.  ir,  c.  r,  nos.  2,  8; 
where  he  adduces  the  example  of  the  Israelites  who  died  in  the  desert,  and 
especially  that  of  the  eleven  tribes  defeated  by  the  tribe  of  Benjamin. — 
Jmlg  xx,  18—27. 


258  MODERN    HISTORY.  Part  Vt 

during  twenty  years  (1157 — 1177),  to  oppress  both  the  See  of  Rome 
and  the  small  states  of  Italy.  His  wicked  attempts  to  raise  a  general 
schism  in  the  Church  and  to  place  popes  of  his  own  creation  in  St. 
Peter's  chair,  were  defeated  by  the  vigor  of  the  lawful  pontiff,  Alex- 
ander III,  united  with  the  zeal  evinced  by  the  other  sovereigns  of 
Europe,  particularly  the  kings  of  England  and  France  (Henry  II, 
Louis  VII),  in  acknowledging  Alexander  as  the  only  true  pope. 
The  exertions  of  the  emperor  towards  the  subjugation  of  the  Italian 
republics  were  in  the  beginning  more  successful;  but  the  Milanese, 
whose  city  he  had  destroyed,  having  entered  with  the  neighboring 
states  into  a  common  league  to  rebuild  Milan  and  repel  the  violent 
usurper,  he  experienced  from  them  a  signal  overthrow,  which  en- 
tirely reduced  bis  power,  and  blasted  his  hopes  with  regard  to  the 
possession  of  Italy. 

This  state  of  things  induced  Frederic  to  come  to  a  reconciliation 
with  the  pope  and  the  Italians,  on  the  conditions  which  they  re- 
quired, especially  that  of  renouncing  the  schism  and  abandoning  his 
hostile  demonstrations  against  the  peninsula.  The  treaty  was  finally 
settled  at  Venice  (A.  D.  1177),  to  the  satisfaction  of  all  parties,  the 
emperor  being  now  as  eager  to  testify  his  sincere  and  perfect  submis- 
sion to  the  sovereign  pontiff,  as  he  had  before  been  in  manifesting 
his  opposition.  It  is  not  true,  that,  the  pope,  as  some  historians 
relate,  set  his  foot  on  the  neck  of  Frederic,  and  insulted  him  with 
these  words  of  the  Psalmist :  Thou  sluilt  walk  upon  the  asp  and  the 
basilisk :  and  thou  shalt  trample  underfoot  the  lion  and  the  dragon*  The 
story,  as  has  been  remarked  by  many  Catholic  critics,f  and  acknow- 
ledged by  impartial  Protestant  historians,^  is  not  in  keeping  with  the 
well  known  meekness  and  moderation  of  Alexander  III,  nor  founded 
on  any  credible  testimony.  This  pretended  humiliation  of  Frederic 
is  indeed  represented  in  some  modern  pictures;  but  who  does  not 
know  that  the  liberty  of  fictions  and  symbolical  representations  13 
allowed  "to  painters  as  well  as  to  poets?" 

England,  during  the  same  period,  was  not  less  agitated  than  Ger- 
many and  Italy.  King  Henry  I,  the  last  son  of -William  the  Con- 
queror, having  died  in  1135,  the  crown  had  been  subsequently  dis- 
puted by  his  daughter  Matilda  and  his  nephew  Stephen  of  Blois, 
earl  of  Boulogne.  At  last,  in  order  to  reconcile  the  jarring  interests 
of  the  two  parties,  it  was  agreed  that,  upon  the  demise  of  Stephen, 

*  Psalm,  xc.  13. 

t  Feller,  Diet.  Histor.,  art  Mex.  in.— Natalis  Alexander,  Hist.  Ecd , 
Sx.ulo  xii,  c.  ii.  art.  9.  de  Mex.  in, — Baronius,  and  Hist,  de  VEgl.  Gall 
ad  aim.  1177. 

*  The  English  authors  of  Univers.  Hist.,  Paris  edit.  1787,  book  xxv,  c 
iv,  reign  of  Fred.  I;— or  vol.  xcvir,  p.  190  of  the  historical  part,  and  p 
191,  m-tc. 


A.  D.  1153-1189.  GERMANY,   ETC  259 

ihe  crown  should  devolve  to  Henry,  the  son  of  Matilda  and  of  Geof- 
frey Plantagenet,  earl  of  Anjou,  whom  she  had  married  after  the 
death  of  the  German  emperor  Henry  V,  her  first  husband.  This 
agreement  received  its  execution  in  1154,  and  Henry  Plantagenet 
ascended  the  throne  of  England  under  the  most  favorable  auspices. 
He  inherited  from  his  father  Touraine  and  Anjou,  and  from  his 
mother  Maine  and  Normandy.  He  had  also  received  with  his  wife 
Eleanor  the  provinces  of  Poitou,  Saintonge  and  Guienne;  so  that, 
besides  England,  a  third  part  of  France  acknowledged  his  authority, 
and  though  he  did  homage  for  his  continental  territories  as  a  vassal 
to  the  French  king,  he  was  more  powerful  than  that  monarch. 

The  reign  of  Henry  II,  like  most  long  reigns,  was  marked  by 
several  important  events;  among  others,  by  the  martyrdom  of  St. 
Thomas,  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  and  by  the  conquest  of  Ireland. 
The  invincible  courage  with  which  the  archbishop  defended  the 
rights  and  immunities  of  the  Church  against  the  encroachments  of 
the  civil  power,  excited  the  animosity  of  the  king,  and  so  provoked 
the  fury  of  four  of  his  courtiers,  that,  repairing  to  Canterbury,  they 
stabbed  him  in  his  own  cathedral  (A.  D.  1170).  So  atrocious  a  deed 
raised  a  general  outcry  of  horror  and  indignation,  not  only  against 
the  murderers,  but  also  against  the  king;  nor  could  he  otherwise 
avert  the  imminent  dangers  to  which  he  now  found  himself  exposed 
on  all  sides,  than  by  submitting  to  an  exemplary  penance  for  the  mur- 
der lately  occasioned  by  his  passionate  words. 

Having  extricated  himself  from  these  difficulties,  Henry  prosecuted 
the  design  which  he  had  long  since  formed  of  adding  Ireland  io  his 
dominions.  Until  then,  this  celebrated  island,  as  we  said  before,  had 
never  been  conquered,  not  even  by  the  Danes,  although  their  multi- 
plied ravages  had  inflicted  a  deep  wound  on  religion,  morality  and 
civilization.  Under  the  plea  of  rescuing  the  Irish  from  the  evils  that 
pervaded  their  several  provinces,  the  English  monarch  obtained  leave 
from  Pope  Adrian  IV  to  enter  their  country,  and  skilfully  availed  him- 
self of  the  intestine  feuds  which  divided  their  sovereigns,  to  make 
conquests  in  Ireland.*  The  natives,  it  is  true,  struggled  long  and 
desperately,  even  sometimes  successfully,  against  the  English ;  but 
their  disunion  and  domestic  broils  prevented  them  from  obtaining 
any  permanent  advantage,  and  Henry  succeeded  in  obtaining  a 
solid  footing  and  extensive  settlements  upon  their  territory.  From 
that  period,  the  British  monarchs  were  called  "'Lords  of  Ireland," 
until  1542,  when  Henry  VIII  took  the  title  of  king,  and  Ireland  was 
made  a  part  of  the  united  kingdom. 

The  remainder  of  Henry's  reign  was  spent  in  improving  the  juris- 
prudence of  his  kingdom,  and  in  various  political  and  military  trans- 
*  See  note  I. 


260  MODERN    HISTORY.  Part  v, 

actions  with  foreign  princes,  during  the  course  of  which  he  generally 
showed  himself  an  able  monarch,  a  skilful  general,  and  a  courageous 
soldier.  His  greatest  trouble  was  the  disobedient  and  rebellious  con- 
duct of  his  sons,  whose  ingratitude  he  frequently  experienced.  So 
bitter  was  his  grief  in  consequence  of  their  last  revolt,  that  it  is  sup- 
posed to  have  accelerated  his  death,  which  happened  in  the  year 
1189. 


FALL  OF  THE  KINGDOM  OF  JERUSALEM.— A.  D.  1187. 

SINCE  the  departure  of  Louis  and  Conrad  from  the  East,  Nouradin, 
without  much  difficulty,  pursued  his  conquests  in  Syria.  Even 
Egypt,  which  had  long  been  an  independent  sovereignty,  was  sub- 
dued by  his  generals;  and  the  Christian  colonies  were  more  and 
more  closely  surrounded  by  their  indefatigable  foes.  Their  danger 
still  increased  under  Saladin,  a  Mussulman  emir,  who  succeeded 
Nouradin  in  117G,  and  who,  to  the  possession  of  extensive  do- 
minions and  an  alarming  power,  joined  all  the  qualifications  ne- 
cessary to  complete  the  ruin  of  a  contiguous  and  decaying  siate. 
Talents,  ambition,  activity,  valor;  sometimes  an  inflexible  severity 
and  rigor;  sometimes  a  wonderful  generosity  and  kindness;  every 
thing,  in  fine,  contributed  to  make  him  the  greatest  hero  of  Islamism 
and  the  most  formidable  enemy  of  the  Christians. 

It  was  in  the  year  1187,  that  he  wrested  from  them  the  possession 
of  Jerusalem  and  of  nearly  all  Palestine.  He  first  entered  the  pro- 
vince of  Galilee  with  Eighty  thousand  horsemen,  and  cutting  in 
pieces  a  body  of  knights  who  defended  that  part  of  the  country, 
Btormed  and  captured  Tiberias,  its  capital,  but  wras  stopped  before  the 
citadel.  In  the  meantime  the  Christian  princes  held  a  great  council 
in  Jerusalem,  to  deliberate  on  the  measures  to  be  taken  for  the  preser- 
vation of  the  kingdom.  Contrary  to  the  advice  of  the  most  prudent, 
it  was  resolved  to  march  out  against  Saladin.  Accordingly,  the 
troops  of  the  different  princes,  as  well  as  those  of  Guy  de  Lusignan, 
king  of  Jerusalem;  the  knights  Hospitallers  and  Templars;  the  gar- 
risons of  the  towns;  in  a  word,  all  who  could  bear  arms,  were  col- 
lected, and  formed  an  army  of  fifty  thousand  men,  who  immediately 
ta arched  towards  Tiberias. 

The  two  opposite  hosts  were  soon  in  sight  of  each  other,  and 
without  delay  prepared  for  battle.  The  whole  advantage  of  position 
was  on  the  side  of  the  Saracens,  who,  occupying  the  summit  of  the 
hills,  commanded  the  valleys  and  defiles  through  which  the  Chris 
tiany  had  to  pass  before  coming  to  close  contest.  These,  however, 


A.  D.  1187.  FALL  OF  JERUSALEM.  261 

continued  to  advance  amidst  a  shower  of  darts  and  stones.  Although 
the  Mussulman  cavalry  rushed  from  the  hills  to  oppose  their  passage, 
they  still  preserved  their  ranks;  and,  animated  by  the  exhortations 
of  the  chiefs  and  the  consciousness  of  their  own  danger,  withstood 
unmoved  the  impetuous  attack  of  the  enemy.  Saladin  himself  could 
not  forbear  admiring  their  intrepidity,  and  confessed,  in  one  of  his 
letters,  that  the  Franks  had  fought  that  day  with  extraordinary  valor. 
But  they  had  more  courage  than  strength ;  destitute  as  they  were  of 
food  and  water,  and  debilitated  by  the  heat  of  the  day,  even  the 
most  vigorous  among  them  seemed  prostrated  by  excessive  weariness. 
Night  suspended  the  still  dubious  conflict. 

The  next  day,  the  Saracens  and  Franks  again  mingled  in  the  com- 
bat; but  Saladin,  as  a  skilful  general,  did  not  give  the  signal  for  bat- 
tle, till  the  Christian  army  began  to  languish  under  the  rays  of  the 
meridian  sun.  He  moreover  caused  the  dry  herbs  which  covered 
the  plain,  to  be  set  on  fire,  so  that  the  Christians  were  soon  encirled 
by  the  smoke  and  flames  which  reached  them  on  every  side.  In  this 
extremity,  confusion  in  their  ranks  became  unavoidable;  yet  they  con- 
tinued intrepid  and  formidable  to  their  opponents,  several  of  them 
rushing  from  among  the  clouds  of  smoke  into  the  thickest  ranks  of 
the  Mussulman  forces.  The  Templars,  above  all,  and  the  Knights 
of  St.  John,  by  their  almost  supernatural  efforts,  would  have  saved 
the  army,  could  it  possibly  have  been  saved;  but  the  combined  exer- 
tions of  courage  and  despair  every  where  found  an  insuperable  ob- 
stacle in  the  multitude  of  their  opponents,  and  the  repeated  charges 
of  the  Christian  warriors  served  only  to  diminish  their  own  numbers. 
At  length,  entirely  overcome  with  thirst  and  fatigue,  both  their  char- 
gers and  themselves  fell  before  the  Saracefls,  who  either  butchered 
them  on  the  spot  or  took  them  prisoners,  together  with  the  king  of 
Jerusalem.  A  few  only  escaped,  by  cutting  a  passage  for  themselves 
through  the  enemy. 

Saladin  did  not  neglect  to  improve  the  signal  victory  which  he  had 
gained.  He  directly  advanced  into  the  heart  of  Palestine,  took  pos- 
session of  many  cities  and  fortresses,  and  at  last  laid  siege  to  Jerusa- 
lem. As  this  capital  was  now  stript  of  its  defenders,  who  had  just  pe- 
rished in  the  fatal  battle  of  Tiberias,  it  could  not  resist  the  victorious 
arms  of  Saladin.  Moreover,  the  Syriac  inhabitants  of  the  city  had 
conspired  among  themselves  to  deliver  it  into  the  hands  of  the  con- 
queror. This  fact  being  made  known,  increased  the  well-grounded 
alarms  of  the  Latins,  and  they  hesitated  no  longer  to  propose  in  their 
own  name  the  surrender  of  the  place,  provided  honorable  conditions 
should  be  granted.  After  some  difficulty,  Saladin  complied  with  a 
part  of  their  request;  permitting  them  to  retire  unmolested,  after 
having  required  from  each  person  the  payment  of  a  certain  sum,  he 


262  MODERN  HISTORY. 


Part  V. 


entered  Jerusalem  in  October,  1187,  eighty-eight  years  after  it  had 
been  conquered  by  the  heroes  of  the  first  crusade.  There  now  re- 
mained irk  the  possession  of  the  Latins  only  three  considerable  towns 
in  Syria,  namely,  Antioch,  Tyre  and  Tripoli. 


THIRD  CRUSADE.— A.  D.  1188—1194. 


THE  news  of  the  fall  of  Jerusalem  spread  consternation  through 
all  Christendom.  Pope  Urban  III  was  so  much  afflicted,  that  he  died 
of  a  broken  heart;  the  western  princes,  who  had  seemed  before  to 
disregard  the  danger  of  the  Christian  colonies  in  Asia,  now  condemned 
their  apathy,  and  determined  to  forget  their  private  quarrels  for  the 
common  interest  ot  Christianity,  (A.  D.  1188). 

Three  famous  potentates  were  at  that  time  reigning  in  Europe: 
Frederic  I,  emperor  of  Germany,  Henry  II,  king  of  England,  both 
of  whom  have  been  already  mentioned  in  a  preceding  section;  and 
Philip  II,  surnamed  Augustus,  king  of  France,  whose  abilities  raised 
that  nation  to  a  degree  of  splendor  and  power  which  it  had  not  pos- 
sessed since  Charlemagne.  Those  three  illustrious  monarchs,  toge- 
ther with  the  chief  lords  of  their  respective  states,  received  the  cross 
from  the  hands  of  William,  the  celebrated  historian,  and  archbishop 
of  Tyre.  Statutes  were  enacted,  to  maintain  good  ortler  and  discipline 
among  the  crusaders  more  successfully  than  during  the  foregoing 
crusades;  and,  to  raise  money  for  the  expedition,  a  council  of  princes 
and  bishops  ordered  that  every  man  who  did  not  take  the  cross,  should 
give  the  tenth  part  of  his  revenue  and  personal  property.  This  tax, 
called  Saladin's  titlte,  from  the  terror  which  the  alarming  progress 
of  Saladin  inspired,  was  levied  in  England  and  France  by  royal 
commissaries. 

The  first  who  set  out  for  Asia  was  the  emperor  Frederic,  at  the 
head  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  men.  How  much  might  be 
expected  for  the  success  of  the  crusade  from  such  an  army,  under  a 
high-spirited  prince  of  consummate  skill  and  valor,  may  be  easily 
conceived.  In  fact,  the  career  of  the  Germans,  until  the  death  of 
Frederic,  was  but  one  series  of  victories.  The  Greek  emperor,  Isaac 
Angelo,  who  dared  to  attack  them,  when  they  entered  his  territory, 
nad  the  mortification  to  see  his  troops  routed,  his  capital  in  great  danger, 
and  himself  compelled  to  supply  the  conqueror  with  provisions  for 
several  months,  and  with  a  sufficient  number  of  vessels  to  convey  the 
crusaders  to  the  opposite  shore  in  Asia. 

The  Germans  continued  to  advance  with  uninterrupted  success. 
Although  many  of  them  died  before  reaching  Syria,  the  progress  of  their 


D  1188-1194. 


THIRD    CRUSADE.  263 


army  spread  terror  abroad.  They  cut  to  pieces  or  drove  before  them  ail 
the  Turkish  forces  in  their  way,  defeated  twice  the  army  of  the  sultan 
of  Iconium,  which  consisted  of  two  or  three  hundred  thousand  com- 
batants; and,  taking  the  city  itself  at  the  first  onset,  forced  the  sultan 
humbly  to  sue  for  peace.  Their  discipline  was  equal  to  their  bravery, 
and  from  all  sides  information  was  conveyed  to  Saladin  of  the  heroic 
patience  of  "the  Germans  in  a  painful  and  harassing  march,  and  of 
their  indomitable  valor.  If  we  give  credit  to  some  historians,  the 
Mussulman  prince  was  already  preparing  to  retire  towards  Egypt, 
when  a  fatal  circumstance  unexpectedly  delivered  him  from  his  most 
formidable  enemy. 

After  crossing  Asia  Minor  and  passing  the  defiles  of  Mount  Tau- 
rus, Frederic,  with  his  army,  was  going  along  a  small  river,  which 
many  believe  to  be  the  very  same  (the  Cydnus)  in  which  Alexander- 
the-Great  had  well  nigh  to  have  perished.  The  heat  of  the  day  was 
excessive.  The  emperor,  enticed  by  the  coolness  and  clearness  of  the 
water,  threw  himself  into  it;  but,  being  suddenly  benumbed  by  the 
cold,  he  was  taken  out  of  the  river  in  the  agonies  of  death,  or,  as 
others  say,  was  carried  down  by  the  rapidity  of  the  current,  and 
drowned. 

His  death  was  more  fatal  to  his  army  than  the  loss  of  a  great  battle 
could  have  been.  Many  soldiers  abandoned  the  army  of  the  crusade; 
whilst  the  others,  proceeding  towards  Palestine  in  spite  of  a  thousand 
obstacles,  saw  their  numbers  so  far  diminished  by  famine,  fatigue, 
distempers  and  repeated  battles,  that  they  were  no  longer  able  to  con- 
tend with  the  hardy  troops  of  Saladin.  They  therefore  went  to  join 
the  army  of  King  Guy  of  Lusignan,  who,  after  his  deliverance  from 
captivity,  had  undertaken  to  besiege  the  strong  town  of  Acre  or  Ptole' 
mais,  on  the  Syrian  coast  (A.  D.  1190). 

Various  incidents  had  retarded  the  departure  of  the  French  and  Eng 
lish  moriarchs.  In  the  interval,  Henry  II  died,  and  left  his  place  to 
be  filled  both  on  the  throne  and  in  the  crusade  by  his  son  Richard  I, 
surnamed  Cceur  de  Lion.  The  new  sovereign  quickly  made  his  last 
arrangements  for  the  holy  war;  and,  in  order  to  avoid  the  dangers 
of  a  march  by  land,  both  he  and  Philip  resolved  to  convey  their  armies 
to  Palestine  by  sea.  These  two  princes  were  then  in  the  flower  of 
their  age,  ardent,  ambitious,  brave  and  intrepid;  but  Philip  was  the 
greater  king,  Richard  the  greater  warrior;  Philip  had,  in  a  greater 
degree  than  Richard,  qualities  which  entitle  a  prince  to  affection  and 
esteem  ;  but  he  was  inferior  to  him  in  those  qualities  which  excite 
surprise  and  admiration.  Moreover,  the  haughtiness  and  violence  of 
Richard  often  procured  him  enemies  and  led  him  into  unpleasant 
adventures. 

Although  the  two  moriarchs  had  sworn  inviolable  friendship  and 


264  MODERN   HISTORY.  Part  v 

fidelity  to  each  other,  contrariety  of  views  and  difference  of  charactei 
soon  introduced  jealousies  and  quarrels  between  them,  which  gieatiy 
impaired  the  cause  of  the  crusade.  Philip  arrived  first  in  Palestine, 
where  the  siege  of  Acre,  owing  to  the  obstinate  resistance  of  the  gar- 
rison, had  already  lasted  nearly  two  years,  the  besiegers  being  them- 
selves besieged  in  their  camp  by  the  innumerable  troops  of  Saladin, 
who,  from  the  neighboring1  mountains,  constantly  watched  all  their 
motions.  Bloody  and  frequent  were  the  conflicts,  and  incalculable 
the  losses  of  both  armies  on  the  field  of  battle;  many  also  were  car- 
ried off  by  pestilence  and  famine;  but  the  arrivals  of  each  day  sup- 
plied the  losses  of  the  preceding.  The  landing  of  Philip  diffused 
new  vigor  among  the  crusaders ;  military  engines  were  erected,  the 
walls  were  battered  and  undermined ;  all  the  preparations  were  made 
for  the  assault;  nothing  was  wanted  but  the  presence  of  Richard,  who 
had  not  yet  arrived  to  share  in  the  danger  and  glory  of  the  attempt. 

This  monarch  had  sailed  from  Sicily  about  three  weeks  later  than 
Philip,  and  had  moreover  been  detained  in  chastising  the  perfidy  of  a 
Greek  prince,  and  in  subduing  the  rich  island  of  Cyprus.  He  at  last 
reached  the  Christian  camp,  and  the  siege  of  Acre  received  from  his 
presence  a  new  impulse.  Assaults  were  repeatedly  made;  and, 
although  the  town  held  out  for  some  time,  it  AVES  easy  to  perceive 
that  the  resistance  could  not  last  much  longer.  The  garrison,  seeing 
their  defences  ruined,  and  all  the  efforts  of  Saladin  insufficient  to  stop 
the  progress  of  the  siege,  consented  at  last  to  capitulate,  and  the 
Christians  took  immediate  possession  of  the  city  (A.  D.  1191). 

Thus  ended  the  siege  of  Ptolemais,  one  of  the  most  famous  in  his- 
tory; one,  during  which  such  exploits  were  performed  by  the  cru- 
saders, as  might,  if  well  directed,  have  sufficed  for  the  conquest  of  all 
Asia.  Although  it  gave  rise  to  some  acts  of  cruelty  and  bloody 
retaliation,  it  also  presented  the  sight  of  many  acts  of  politeness  and 
courtesy  interchanged  by  the  Latins  and  the  Saracens.  In  times  of 
truce,  the  contending  nations  mingled  together  in  friendship;  and  at 
one  moment  they  reciprocated  good  offices,  while  at  another  they 
met  in  impetuous  and  bloody  conflict.  Saladin  was  accustomed  to 
send  presents  of  excellent  fruit  to  Kings  Richard  and  Philip,  who,  in 
return,  sent  him  jewels  and  productions  of  Europe. 

The  joy  which  the  conquest  of  Ptolemais  spread  among  Christian 
nations,  was  soon  damped  by  the  news  that  Philip  intended  to 
withdraw  from  the  crusade.  No  doubt  can  exist  that  the  health  of 
this  monarch  had  been  considerably  impaired  by  a  dangerous  illness; 
but  his  chief  motive  in  returning  to  Europe,  was  the  disgust  he  had 
conceived  at  the  overbearing  conduct  and  passionate  temper  of  Rich- 
ard, which  ever  prevented  them  from  cordially  co-operating.  Under 
such  circumstances,  the  French  king  seemed  justifiable  in  retiring 


4.  D.  1188—1194. 


THIRD  CRUSADE  265 


from  the  army,  on  the  plausible  plea  that  he  would,  by  so  doing, 
rather  advance  the  cause  of  the  crusade.  Accordingly,  he  took  his 
final  determination,  and  embarked  for  France,  leaving  behind  him 
ten  thousand  men  with  the  duke  of  Burgundy,  to  support  the  king 
of  England. 

By  this  retreat  of  Philip,  the  chief  command  devolved  solely  on 
Richard.  After  repairing  the  fortifications  of  Acre,  he  marched  out 
with  a  considerable  force,  and,  taking  the  road  along  the  sea-shore, 
proceeded  towards  Ascalon,  while  vessels  laden  with  provisions  fol- 
lowed along  the  coast.  The  Saracens  pursued  the  army  as  it 
marched,  and  harassed  it  by  continual  skirmishes,  which  led,  how- 
ever, to  no  serious  consequences.  But  near  Antipatris,  at  the  pas- 
sage of  a  river  called  Arsur,  the  Christians  were  suddenly  attacked 
by  two  or  three  hundred  thousand  Moslems,  whom  Saladin,  in  order 
to  impede  the  progress  of  the  crusade,  and  to  avenge  the  loss  of 
Ptolemais,  had  assembled  from  all  parts  of  his  empire. 

Richard,  seeing  that  the  battle  was  unavoidable,  desired  to  make  it 
a  decisive  one,  and  forbade  his  troops  to  commence  fighting  until  the 
signal  should  be  given.  The  crusaders  waited  for  it  with  impatience; 
they  could  bear  any  thing  but  the  shame  of  remaining  idle  in  the  pre- 
sence of  ari  enemy  who  was  vigorously  pressing  upon  them.  At 
length,  some  of  the  most  intrepid  knights,  forgetting  the  king's 
orders,  rushed  against  the  Saracens;  and,  as  others  followed  their 
example,  in  a  few  moments  the  engagement  became  general.  So 
furious  was  the  shock,  and  so  thick  the  dust  which  enveloped  both 
armies,  that  several  fell  by  the  swords  of  their  own  companions,  who 
mistook  them  for  antagonists.  Richard  seemed  to  multiply  himself, 
and  to  be  in  every  part  of  the  field  in  which  the  danger  was  greatest; 
and  every  where  the  enemy  fled  at  his  presence.  The  other  chiefs 
under  him  seconded  his  efforts;  and  the  Mussulmans,  unable  to  stand 
so  impetuous  a  charge,  fled  to  the  mountains,  calling  the  crusaders 
a  nation  made  of  iron,  and  which  could  not  be  broken. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  Christians  could  scarcely  believe  that  they 
were  so  soon  victorious ;  nor  were  their  doubts  entirely  groundless. 
Whilst  they  still  occupied  the  spot  on  which  they  had  just  fought, 
attending  to  their  wounded  companions,  the  engagement  was  renewed 
by  a  body  of  twenty  thousand  Saracens,  whom  their  commander,  a 
nephew  of  Saladin,  had  rallied  and  led  back  to  the  charge,  but  with 
as  little  success  as  before.  In  fine,  just  as  the  conquerors  were 
resuming  their  march,  the  enemy,  hurried  on  by  fury  and  despair, 
again  attacked  them  in  the  rear.  Richard,  with  only  fifteen  knights, 
ran  to  the  spot  and  again  routed  the  Moslems.  Their  army,  tnus 
defeated  three  limes  on  the  same  day,  at  last  abandoned  the  field  with 
the  loss  of  thirty  two  emirs,  and  several  thousand  of  their  choicest 
23 


266  MODERN     HISTORY.  Part  v. 

men.  Many  more  yet  might  have  fallen,  had  they  not  found  a 
timely  refuge  in  the  neighboring  forests. 

Still,  this  victory,  splendid  as  it  was,  procured  more  glory  than  real 
advantage  to  the  crusaders.  Yielding  to  the  same  sort  of  remissness 
which  is  supposed  to  have  proved  fatal  to  Annibal  after  the  battle  of 
Cannrc,  Richard,  instead  of  leading  his  victorious  troops  without 
delay  to  Jerusalem,  wasted  his  time  in  repairing  the  town  of  Jaffa 
and  the  castles  of  the  neighborhood.  The  Saracens  recovered  from 
their  terror,  and  Saladin  had  sufficient  respite  to  fortify  the  Holy  City 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  threaten  a  most  vigorous  resistance.  When 
afterwards  Richard,  on  two  different  occasions,  approached  Jerusa- 
lem with  the  intention  of  besieging  it,  the  difficulty  of  the  attempt, 
the  inconveniences  of  the  climate,  the  disunion  and  jealousy  of  the 
chief  crusaders,  and  the  fears  which  he  entertained  for  his  European 
dominions,  induced  him  on  both  occasions  to  retire.  This  was  a 
source  of  much  regret  and  sorrow  both  to  the  army  and  to  the  king. 
Whilst  many  persons  loudly  murmured  against  him,  and  withdrew 
from  his  standard,  he  shared  in  the  common  grief,  and  was  indignant 
at  himself.  One  day,  whilst  pursuing  a  party  of  Saracens  as  far  as 
the  hills  that  surround  Jerusalem,  and  from  which  he  could  see 
the  towers  and  steeples  of  the  town,  he  burst  into  tears,  and  covered 
his  face  with  his  shield,  thinking  himself  unworthy  to  contemplate 
the  Holy  City  which  his  arms  could  not  rescue  from  the  hands  of 
infidels. 

Notwithstanding  these  uncertainties  and  obstacles,  Richard  con- 
tinued to  wage  a  terrible  war  against  the  Moslems,  and,  by  splendid 
feats,  to  secure  the  just  reputation  he  already  enjoyed  of  being  the 
greatest  warrior  of  his  age.  Immediately  after  the  second  retreat  of 
the  Christians  from  the  neighborhood  of  Jerusalem,  Saladin  burst 
into  the  city  of  Jaffa,  and,  putting  to  the  sword  many  of  the  inha- 
bitants, drove  the  rest  into  the  citadel,  which  he  besieged.  The  Eng- 
lish king  had  now  returned  to  Acre.  At  the  first  intelligence  of  the 
event,  he  sent  the  bulk  of  the  army  by  land,  while  he,  taking  advan- 
tage of  a  favorable  wind,  set  sail  with  seven  gallies,  and  arrived  in 
time  to  save  the  besieged  garrison  by  clearing  the  town  of  its  invaders. 

This,  however,  was  not  enough  for  the  impetuous  courage  of 
Richard.  Disdaining  to  be  confined  within  the  walls  of  the  liberated 
city,  he  marched  out  to  challenge  the  Moslems,  and  was  soon  attacked 
by  an  army  three  times  as  numerous  as  his  own ;  but  inferiority  of 
numbers  was  of  little  consequence,  when  Richard  commanded  in 
person.  He  repelled  all  the  charges  of  the  Mussulman  cavalry,  put 
it  to  flight,  and  vanquished  every  champion  who  dared  to  wait  his 
approach,  among  others  a  valiant  emir,  whose  head,  right  shoulder 
and  right  arm  he  cut  off  at  one  blow.  Seeing  the  brave  earl  of  Essex 


A.  D.  1188—1194. 


THIRD  CRUSADE.  267 


and  his  companions  on  the  point  of  being  slain  or  captured,  he  rushed 
with  his  usual  courage,  scattered  the  enemy  like  a  whirlwind,  and 
delivered  his  friends  from  their  peril.*  In-fine,  he  threw  himself  with, 
such  ardor  among  the  Mussulman  squadrons,  that  for  some  moments, 
he  disappeared  from  the  sight  of  his  own  troops.  When  he  returned, 
his  horse  was  covered  with  dust  and  blood;  and  he  himself  bristling 
with  darts  fastened  in  his  shield  and  dress,  resembled,  according  to 
an  ocular  witness,  a  cushion  covered  with  needles. 

It  was  thought  that  Richard,  on  this  occasion,  surpassed  his  for- 
mer renown.  His  conduct  drew  upon  him  the  admiration  of  the 
infidels  themselves,  particularly  of  Saphadin,  the  sultan's  brother, 
who,  during  the  very  conflict,  sent  him  a  present  of  two  Arabian 
horses.  His  sight  alone  filled  the  Moslems  with  terror,  and  made 
their  hair  stand  erect.  When  Saladin,  after  the  battle,  reproached 
the  Saracen  officers  for  having  fled  before  a  single  man:  "Nobody,'' 
answered  one  of  them,  "can  withstand  him;  his  approach  is  frightful, 
his  shock  is  irresistible,  his  feats  of  arms  are  superhuman."  In  fact, 
Richard,  to  a  mind  incapable  of  fear,  added  an  extraordinary  degree 
of  muscular  strength,  and  such  was  the  impression  of  terror  produced 
by  his  exploits  in  Palestine,  that,  for  a  century  after,  his  name  was 
used  to  check  the  impetuosity  of  the  Saracen  horse,  and  quiet  the 
restlessness  of  the  Saracen  child. 

Still,  all  these  glorious  achievements  were  lost  for  the  crusade. 
The  disunion  of  the  crusaders,  which  the  haughtiness  of  the  English 

*  The  readiness  of  the  king  to  succor  his  fellow-crusaders  in  every 
danger  to  which  they  might  be  exposed,  was  repaid  by  their  devotedness  in 
defending  his  life  and  liberty  at  the  expense  of  their  own.  This  appeared 
chiefly  during  the  first  sojourn  of  the  Christian  troops  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Jaffa.  Richard,  having  one  day  gone  to  the  chase  in  a  forest,  stopped 
to  sleep  under  a  tree,  but  was  suddenly  awakened  by  the  cries  of  those  who 
accompanied  him,  and  who  saw  a  troop  of  Saracens  rapidly  advancing  to 
take  him  prisoner.  He  quickly  mounted  his  horse,  and  began  to  fight  with 
his  usual  valor;  but,  being  surrounded  on  all  sides,  he  would  certainly  have 
been  captured  or  slain,  had  not  one  of  his  followers,  named  William  of  Pra- 
telles,  drawn  the  attention  of  the  foes  to  himself,  by  exclaiming  "  I  am  the 
king;  save  my  life."  The  king,  being  thus  enabled  to  make  his  escape, 
retired  to  Jaffa;  whilst  William,  having  delivered  himself  into  the  hands  of 
the  Mussulmans,  was  conducted  to  Saladin,  who  knew  how  to  appreciate 
BO  noble  an  action,  and,  instead  of  punishing  his  deceit,  praised  his  fidelity. 
Nor  was  Richard  ungrateful  towards  the  generous  knight;  in  order  to  res- 
cue him  from  captivity,  he  willingly  returned  ten  of  the  principal  emirs 
who  had  been  made  prisoners  in  the  battle  of  Antipatris. 

This  interesting  event  is  not  mentioned  by  Lingard;  still,  it  cannot  be 
well  doubted,  being  taken  from  authentic  documents  of  that  epoch,  and 
related  by  many  excellent  historians,  viz.  Michaut,  Hist,  des  Croisades,  vol. 
n,  p.  473— Mairnbourg,  Hist,  des  Crois.  vol.  11,  p.  418;— and  F.  D'Orle"ans, 
Hist,  des  Revol.  D'Jtnglet,,  vol.  i,  p.  230 :  who  all  refer  the  fact  to  the  end 
of  the  year  1191. 


* 


268  MODERN    HISTORY.  Pait  v 

monarch  contributed  much  to  increase,  the  jealousy  of  the  other 
chiefs  against  him,  and,  above  all,  the  repeated  information  which 
he  received  of  great  disturbances  taking  place  in  England,  made  him 
earnestly  desire  the  conclusion  of  a  treaty  of  peace,  and  he  repeated- 
ly proposed  it  to  Saladin.  At  last,  a  truce  was  agreed  upon  between 
them  for  three  years  and  eight  months.  By  it,  the  Christians  were 
left  in  possession  of  the  cities  of  Palestine  situated  along  the  coast, 
and  the  Saracens  kept  the  other  towns  with  Jerusalem,  under  con- 
dition of  granting  to  the  pilgrims  free  access  to  the  holy  sepulchre. 

Such  was  the  result  of  the  third  crusade,  which  had  seen  the  most 
powerful  monarchs,  and,  as  it  were,  all  the  forces  of  Europe  righting 
against  those  of  Asia  during  three  years  in  succession.  It  led, 
indeed,  to  the  surrender  of  Acre,  a  town  of  considerable  importance  for 
the  Christians  :  and  to  the  conquest  of  the  island  of  Cyprus,  which 
Richard  gave  to  Guy  of  Lusignan,  the  disappointed  king  of  Jerusa- 
lem, but  it  did  not  recover  the  Holy  City,  the  real  and  professed 
object  of  the  crusade.  Splendid  and  glorious  were  the  personal 
exploits  of  Richard;  still  his  vacillating  conduct  showed  that  he 
possessed  neither  all  the  talents  of  a  great  general,  nor  that  constancy 
of  mind  so  necessary  for  the  success  of  any  arduous  enterprise.  The 
superiority  in  both  these  particulars  ought  certainly  to  be  given  to 
Saladin,  who,  notwithstanding  some  defeats,  finally  remained  master 
of  Jerusalem  and  of  the  far  greater  portion  of  the  Holy  Land. 

The  English  monarch,  having  nothing  more  to  do  in  Palestine, 
sailed  from  Acre  in  October,  (1192);  the  inhabitants  wept  at  his 
departure,  nor  could  he  suppress  his  own  emotion.  Many  and  dis- 
astrous were  the  adventures  which  attended  his  voyage.  The  vessel 
in  which  he  sailed  being  wrecked  on  the  coast  of  the  Adriatic  sea, 
the  king  resolved  to  cross  Germany  incognito  and  in  the  guise  of  a 
pilgrim,  to  avoid  the  snares  of  his  numerous  enemies;  but  even  this 
precaution  could  not  save  him  from  the  disasters  which  he  feared. 
Being  recognized  at  Vienna  in  Austria,  Duke  Leopold,  whom  he 
had  cruelly  offended  during  the  siege  of  Ptolemais,  arrested  him,  and 
confined  him  as  his  prisoner  in  a  strong  castle.  The  royal  captive 
was  afterwards  delivered  into  the  hands  of  the  German  emperor, 
Henry  VI,  also  his  enemy,  who  kept  him  in  prison,  till  a  large  sum 
of  money  was  sent  from  England  for  his  ransom.  At  length,  Rich- 
ard was  allowed  to  pursue  his  journey  without  further  molestation. 
At  Antwerp,  he  found  his  fleet;  and,  after  a  few  days  navigation, 
landed  on  the  shores  of  England.  The  recollection  of  his  recent 
exploits  and  misfortunes  having  obliterated  the  remembrance  of  his 
former  faults,  he  was  received  with  universal  joy,  after  an  absence 
of  more  than  four  years  (A.  D.  1194). 


A.  D.  1195-1193.  FOURTH    CRUSADE.  269 

FOURTH  CRUSADE.— A.  D.  1195—1198. 


SALADIN  did  not  long  enjoy  llie  satisfaction  of  having  maintained 
his  superiority  in  Asia,  and  particularly  in  the  Holy  Land,  against 
the  combined  efforts  of  the  European  princes.  One  year  had  scarce- 
ly elapsed  since  the  conclusion  of  his  treaty  with  Richard,  when 
death  terminated  his  career.  Finding  his  end  approaching,  he  com- 
manded the  shroud  in  which  his  body  was  to  be  enveloped,  to  be 
carried  through  the  streets,  and  an  emir  to  cry  out  with  a  loud  voice: 
"  Behold  what  Salad  in,  the  mighty  conqueror  of  the  East,  will  carry 
away  with  him  of  all  his  vast  dominions."  He  died  at  Damascus 
(A.  D.  1194) — a  monarch  in  whose  character,  although  not  altogether 
blameless,  humanity  and  justice  were  more  conspicuous  than  in  any 
other  Mussulman  conqueror. 

The  death  of  this  great  sultan  was  followed  by  civil  dissensions 
among  the  Moslems,  which  might  have  become  very  detrimental  to 
their  power,  had  the  Christians  been  more  united  among  themselves. 
The  sons  of  Saladin  seized  upon  such  portions  of  their  father's 
empire  as  they  could  obtain;  but  his  brother  Saphadin,  otherwise 
called  Mak'k  Adel,  finding  himself  equally  beloved  and  respected  by 
the  soldiers,  waged  war  against  these  young  princes,  and  took  pos- 
session of  the  greater  part  of  Syria. 

This  was  a  favorable  opportunity  for  another  crusade.  Pope  Ce- 
lestine  III  exhorted  all  Christendom  to  improve  it  by  a  generous 
effort,  and  to  take  up  arms  again  in  favor  of  Jerusalem.  In  England 
and  France,  his  exhortation  failed,  as  Richard  and  Philip  were  now 
too  actively  engaged  in  war  against  each  other,  to  quit  their  do- 
minions; but  in  Germany,  so  many  persons  offered  themselves, 
after  the  example  of  the  emperor  Henry  VI,  that  three  armies  were 
quickly  assembled  for  this  new  expedition.  Henry,  however,  with 
the  most  numerous  of  the  three,  did  not  proceed  farther  than  Sicily, 
where  he  put  an  end  to  the  power  and  race  of  the  Norman  sove- 
reigns. The  other  two  armies  reached  Palestine,  and  gained  at 
first  great  advantages  over  Saphadin.  Unfortunately,  new  quarrels 
among  the  leaders  impeded  their  progress,  and  the  news  of  the  em- 
peror's death  induced  them  to  return  to  Europe,  for  the  election  of 
his  successor  (A.  D.  1198).  Thus  the  hope  which  had  been  enter- 
tained with  regard  to  the  recovery  of  the  Holy  Land,  was  again  dis 
appointed. 


270  MODERN    HISTORY.  Part  y. 


FIFTH   CRUSADE. 


FOUNDATION   Of   THE   LATIN   EMPIRE    OF    CONSTANTINOPLE. 
A.    D.    1199—1204. 


ANOTHER  crusade  soon  followed,  productive  of  the  most  singular 
and  unexpected  effects.  Although  the  ill  success  of  the  foregoing 
expeditions  had  greatly  abated  the  enthusiasm  for  the  holy  war,  still 
the  fetters  of  Pope  Innocent  III  and  the  eloquent  exhortations  of  a 
zealous  priest,  called  Foulqucs  de  Neuilly,  soon  revived  in  many 
generous  hearts  an  ardent  desire  of  reconquering  Jerusalem.  None, 
it  is  true,  of  the  crowned  heads,  owing  to  their  fear  of  each  other, 
engaged  in  this  new  attempt  to  liberate  Palestine;  but  it  was  vigor- 
ously pursued  by  several  Italian  and  French  lords,  under  the  com- 
mand of  Boniface,  marquis  of  Montferrat,  and  Baldwin,  earl  of 
Flanders. 

These  new  crusaders  determined,  as  Kings  Richard  and  Philip 
had  formerly  done,  to  convey  their  armament  to  Palestine  by  sea. 
A  treaty  was  entered  into  with  the  republic  of  Venice,  by  which  the 
Venetians  agreed,  not  only  to  supply  the  crusading  army  with  ves- 
sels at  a  stipulated  price,  but  even  to  share  in  the  enterprise.  The 
fleet  was  soon  ready;  but  the  unexpected  departure  of  several  among 
the  barons  and  knights  by  a  different  way,  greatly  perplexed  the 
others,  who,  although  they  melted  down  their  plate,  could  not  make 
up  the  sum  required.  In  this  distress,  the  famous  doge  Henry  Dan- 
dolo  opened  a  new  negotiation,  and  offered,  not  only  to  unite  with 
the  French  in  the  crusade,  but  also  to  wait  for  the  entire  payment  of 
their  debt  till  the  end  of  the  expedition,  provided  they  would  first  aid 
the  Venetians  in  reconquering  the  city  of  Zara,  in  Dalmatia,  which 
had  been  taken  from  the  republic  some  time  before  by  the  king  of 
Hungary.  The  offer  was  accepted,  and  Zara  being  vigorously  at 
tacked  both  by  land  and  sea,  surrendered  at  discretion  (A.  D.  1202).  It 
now  seemed  that  nothing  more  could  retard  the  voyage  of  the  crusa- 
ders ;  but  just  at  this  juncture,  there  came  from  another  quarter  a  re- 
quest of  an  extraordinary  nature,  and  promising  the  happiest  results ; 
this  request  again  diverted  them  from  their  former  design,  and  gave 
a  new  direction  to  the  operations  of  the  crusade. 

Isaac,  the  emperor  of  Constantinople,  had  lately  been  expelled 
from  the  throne  by  his  brother  Alexius,  who  moreover  deprived  him 
of  his  sight,  and  confined  him  in  a  prison.  Another  Alexius,  the 
son  of  the  dethroned  monarch,  having  marie  his  escape  from  the 
hands  of  the  usurper,  went  through  the  various  countries  and  courts 


A.  D.  1199—1204. 


FIFTH  CRUSADE.  271 


of  Europe,  to  excite  compassion  and  obtain  assistance  for  his  unfor- 
tunate father.  The  French  and  the  Venetians  had  not  yet  sailed 
from  Zara,  when  the  deputies  of  that  young  prince,  who  were  soon 
followed  by  himself,  arrived  in  their  camp.  He  promised  with  an 
oath,  if  they  would  expel  the  usurper  and  replace  Isaac  on  the 
throne,  to  give  two  hundred  thousand  marks  of  silver,  to  facilitate 
the  conquest  of  the  Holy  Land,  to  maintain  there,  during  his  life, 
five  hundred  knights  for  its  defence,  and  to  reestablish  among  the 
Greeks  the  authority  of  the  Roman  Pontiff.  Notwithstanding  the 
tempting  promises  and  engaging  manners  of  young  Alexius,  his 
proposal  did  not  meet  the  unanimous  approbation  of  the  crusaders, 
many  rejecting  at  once  the  idea  of  being  again  diverted  from  the  main 
object  of  their  enterprise.  Still,  the  offers  were  so  advantageous  in 
themselves,  and  seemed  moreover  so  well  calculated  to  further  the 
ultimate  result  which  they  wished  to  obtain,  that  most  of  the  barons 
readily  accepted  them  on  the  terms  proposed.  Accordingly,  the 
fleet,  having  on  board  Prince  Alexius,  set  sail  from  Zara;  and,  after 
a  short  and  prosperous  passage,  came  within  sis:ht  of  Constantinople 
(A.  D.  1203). 

A  siege  often  days  was  sufficient  to  reduce  that  celebrated  capital, 
After  many  skirmishes,  a  general  attack  was  agreed  upon  by  the  La- 
tins, and  took  place  on  the  seventeenth  of  July,  both  by  land  and  sea, 
the  French  on  the  one  side,  and  the  Venetians  on  the  other,  seeming 
to  rival  each  other  on  that  day  for  the  prize  of  undaunted  courage. 
Still,  they  would  perhaps  have  been  overcome  by  numbers,  had  not 
Henry  Dandolo  set  them  an  example  of  heroic  boldness  and  intre- 
pidity. Although  at  the  age  of  more  than  eighty  years,  and  almost 
blind,  he  ordered,  with  terrific  threats  in  case  of  disobedience,  that  he 
should  be  landed,  with  the  great  standard  of  St.  Mark  before  him. 
In  compliance  with  the  command,  his  vessel  was  immediately  pushed 
to  the  shore,  close  under  the  walls;  the  rest  of  the  fleet  followed; 
and,  in  spite  of  darts,  stones  and  Grecian  fire  thrown  by  the  besieged, 
twenty-five  towers  were  soon  in  the  power  of  the  assailants.  After 
this,  Dandolo,  without  loss  of  time,  flew  to  the  assistance  of  the 
French  who  were  opposed  by  innumerable  forces.  The  Greeks  re-- 
treated; consternation  spread  through  Constantinople;  and  the  usur- 
per, more  terrified  than  any  of  the  citizens,  fled  during  the  night 
from  the  town,  carrying  along  with  him  his  treasures  and  the  insig- 
nia of  the  imperial  dignity. 

The  inhabitants  opened  their  gates  to  the  coQquerors.  The  old 
emperor  was  delivered  from  his  prison,  reascended  the  throne  with 
universal  applause,  and  ratified  the  promises  made  by  his  son  to  the 
Latins.  But  it  was  an  easier  task  to  confirm  them  by  word  and 
writing,  than  to  carry  them  into  execution.  The  heavy  tribute 


272  MODERN  HISTORY. 


Part 


which  Isaac  and  Alexius,  in  order  to  pay  their  debt,  were  obliged  to 
impose  on  the  citizens;  a  dreadful  conflagration,  which  raged  during 
eight  days  in  the  capital  ;  and  a  variety  of  other  incidents,  excited 
public  hatred  and  contempt  against  the  two  emperors;  whilst  the 
crusaders  also  were  indignant  at  their  delay  in  carrying  out  the  treaty. 
The  most  dangerous  of  their  enemies  was  a  young  lord  of  the  court. 
known  under  the  surname  of  Murzuphlis,  who  secretly  aspired  to 
the  supreme  power.  Whilst  he  deceived  the  sovereigns  by  an  exte- 
rior show  of  zeal  for  their  interest,  he  left  nothing  untried  to  incense 
the  multitude  both  against  them  and  against  the  Latins.  In  fine,  the 
unwary  princes  having  fallen  victims  to  his  intrigues  and  perfidy,  he 
was  acknowledged  emperor  in  their  place,  and  immediately  prepared 
to  oppose  the  efforts  which,  he  foresaw,  the  crusaders  would  make, 
to  punish  his  crime  and  avenge  the  death  of  those  whona  they  had 
taken  under  their  protection. 

In  fact,  the  intelligence  of  the  murder  of  the  young  Alexius  had 
no  sooner  reached  their  camp,  than  they  determined  to  proclaim  again 
an  open  war,  and  attack  the  imperial  city  a  second  time.  They  knew 
well  the  danger  of  the  attempt,  much  greater  indeed  then,  from  the 
fury  of  the  Greeks,  than  it  was  before;  but  so  little  effect  had  this 
knowledge  on  the  minds  of  those  intrepid  warriors,  and  so  much  did 
they  rely  on  their  valor  and  their  swords,  and  on  the  protection  of 
heaven,  that,  even  before  going  to  the  assault,  they  agreed  among 
themselves  upon  the  measures  to  be  taken  for  the  preservation  and 
government  of  their  conquest. 

Not  to  divide  their  forces,  they  conducted  the  whole  expedition  by 
sea,  and  directed  it  against  one  single  part  of  the  city.  The  galleys 
approached  the  wall,  and  made  a  furious  attack,  which  lasted  until 
three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  with  more  courage  however  than  suc- 
cess on  the  part  of  the  assailants  ;  for  they  every  where  met  so  deter- 
mined a  resistance,  that  the  multitude  of  their  opponents  and  the 
ravages  of  the  Grecian  fire  compelled  those  who  had  landed,  to  re- 
turn to  their  vessels  and  withdraw  to  a  distance.  Still,  instead  of  lo- 
sing courage,  they  seemed  inspired  with  redoubled  ardor.  Three  days 
were  spent  in  repairing  the  injured  machines,  and  in  consulting  about 
a  new  attempt.  The  leaders  of  the  army  judging  that  a  single  ves- 
sel did  not  contain  a  sufficient  number  of  troops  to  effect  a  successful 
assault  on  any  particular  spot,  it  was  resolved  to  join  two  vessels  for 
each  point  of  attack. 

On  the  fourth  day  (12th  of  April  1204),  the  assault  was  recom- 
menced, and  the  conflict  carried  on  during  the  whole  morning  with 
the  same  animosity  as  before,  and  also  with  some  advantage  on  the 
side  of  the  Greeks.  In  an  instant,  however,  the  fortune  of  the  day 
was  changed.  About  noon,  a  wind  arising  from  the  north,  made  the 


A.  ».  1199-1204.  FIFTH  CRUSADE.  273 

vessels  approach  nearer  to  the  wall;  two  of  them  lashed  together, 
called  the  Pilgrim  and  the  Paradise,  were  brought  close  \f>  one  of  the 
towers,  and  by  means  of  a  moveable  bridge,  two  intrepid  warriors, 
Peter  Alberti,  a  Venetian,  and  Andrew  d'Urboise,  a  French  knight, 
sprang  upon  the  battlement.  The  others  followed  in  multitudes  j 
three  gates  were  at  the  same  time  broken  by  the  battering  rams,  and 
the  whole  host  of  the  crusaders  entered  the  town,  driving  before  them 
innumerable  troops  of  soldiers  and  inhabitants,  who  fled  at  theii  ap- 
proach like  so  many  flocks  of  sheep.  One  Latin  put  to  flight  a  hun- 
dred, or  even  a  thousand  Greeks ;  and  such  was  the  terror  which 
seized  the  vanquished,  that  they  imagined  a  French  cavalier  whom 
they  saw  advancing  at  the  head  of  his  troop,  to  be  fifty  feet  high. 
The  principal  contriver  of  so  many  evils,  Murzuphlis,  after  some 
faint  efforts  to  rally  his  citizens,  made  his  escape  from  the  city  during 
the  night. 

The  following  day,  Constantinople  was  pillaged ;  and,  although 
the  Greeks  had  time  to  conceal  a  great  part  of  their  most  valuable 
effects,  the  conquerors  collected  an  immense  booty  in  gold,  silver, 
jewels  and  other  precious  articles.  Undoubtedly,  several  acts  of  vio- 
lence, notwithstanding  the  strict  prohibitions  of  the  chiefs,  were  com- 
mitted by  a  victorious  soldiery;  still,  implicit  credit  ought  not  to  be 
given  to  the  partial  and  virulent  testimony  of  exasperated  Greeks. 
From  other  and  more  impartial  accounts,  it  appears  that  there  was 
much  less  actual  bloodshed  than  either  the  particular  circumstances 
of  the  victory  or  the  dangerous  position  of  the  conquerors  might 
naturally  have  occasioned;  and  that  many  noble  arid  generous  ac- 
tions were  witnessed  on  that  occasion,  notwithstanding  the  cupidity 
and  licentiousness  which  ever  accompany  the  sacking  of  a  great 
city. 

Thus  was  Constantinople,  that  proud  capital,  well  fortified  and 
well  defended  on  every  side,  containing  one  million  of  inhabitants 
and  upwards  of  two  hundred  thousand  fighting  men,  taken  twice, 
within  a  short  interval,  by  a  handful  of  warriors  whose  whole  num- 
ber was  at  most  twenty  thousand.  In  consequence  of  the  agree- 
ment entered  into  previously  to  the  first  assault,  twelve  commissaries, 
six  French  and  six  Venetian,  proceeded  to  the  election  of  an  emperor. 
After  mature  deliberation,  their  unanimous  votes  proclaimed  for  that 
high  dignity,  Baldwin,  earl  of  Flanders,  who  possessed  it  only  one 
year,  and  thus  completed  that  resemblance  with  Godfrey  of  Bouillon, 
which  he  had  in  every  other  respect,  in  valor,  ability  and  virtue. 
Dandolo,  Boniface,  and  other  leaders  of  the  crusade,  received  pro- 
portionate and  splendid  preferments  in  the  newly  conquered  empire, 
jis  ;i  just  recompense  for  their  glorious  exploits  and  services ;  whilst 
the  survivors  of  the  late  reigning  families  fled  to  Asia,  and  founded 


274  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Part  V. 


there  two  new  states,  which  they  called  the  empires  of  Nice  and 
Trebisonde. 

It  is  but  natural  to  presume  that  such  extraordinary  and  compli- 
cated events,  did  not  permit  the  heroes  of  the  fifth  crusade  to  pursue 
their  former  project  of  delivering  Jerusalem.  They  were  now  too 
much  occupied  in  defending  their  new  possessions,  to  think  of  any 
other  conquest;  nor  was  it  even  without  great  difficulty  that  the 
Latin  empire  of  Constantinople  could  subsist  for  some  time.  Suc- 
cessively deprived,  by  death,  of  its  magnanimous  defenders,  and 
surrounded  by  enemies,  it  possessed  but  a  precarious  existence,  and, 
after  a  short  duration  of  fifty-seven  years,  again  fell  into  the  power 
of  the  Greeks. 


WARS  THROUGHOUT  EUROPE.— A.  D.  1200—1226. 


WHILST  some  French  and  Italian  nobles  were  dividing  among 
themselves  the  spoils  and  the  provinces  of  the  Greek  empire,  the 
flames  of  war  were  kindled  throughout  the  various  parts  of  western 
Europe.  The  Christian  inhabitants  of  Spain  had,  it  is  true,  very 
little  share  in  the  crusades  undertaken  by  the  other  nations  of  Chris- 
tendom ;  but  they  were  themselves  engaged  in  a  permanent  crusade 
against  the  Moors,  and  the  whole  peninsula  was  a  theatre  of  almost 
uninterrupted  warfare.  During  the  course  of  the  twelfth  century,  as 
well  as  in  the  preceding  ages,  both  parties  had  alternately  gained  vic- 
tories and  suffered  defeats,  the  loss,  however,  being  more  frequently 
on  the  side  of  the  Moors.  In  the  beginning  of  the  thirteenth  century, 
the  conflict  between  the  two  nations  assumed  a  more  threatening  and 
formidable  aspect  than  it  had  done  for  a  long  time.  The  Miramolin 
(commander-in-chief )  of  the  Spanish  and  African  Moslems  was  now 
making  immense  preparations,  to  crush  at  once  all  the  Christian 
kingdoms  of  Spain.  The  king  of  Castile,  Alfonso  IX,  who  was  par- 
ticularly exposed  to  the  gathering  storm,  called  to  his  assistance  the 
knights  of  France  and  Portugal,  together  with  the  kings  of  Arragon 
and  Navarre  (D.  Pedro  II — Sanchez  VII),  to  oppose  the  common 
enemy;  and  Pope  Innocent  III  willingly  extended  to  their  army  the 
privileges  usually  granted  to  the  crusaders.  Their  combined  forces 
consisted  of  about  one  hundred  thousand  warriors;  those  of  the 
Miramolin,  the  most  numerous  that  Spain  had  ever  beheld,  amounted 
to  four  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  combatants,  one-third  of  whom 
were  cavalry. 

The  confederates  came  in  sight  of  the  Moors  near  a  ridge  of 
mountains  called  Sierra-Morena,  which  separates  Andalusia  from 


A.  D.  1200-1228.  WARS    THROUGHOUT    EUROPE.  275 

Castile.  It  was  just  behind  these  mountains  that  Mohammed,  the 
Saracen  prince,  had  encamped  his  army  in  a  strong  position,  at  the 
entrance  of  a  vast  plain  called  Navas  de  Tolosa.  When  the  Chris- 
tians arrived  at  the  ridge,  they  found  no  other  way  to  pass  it  than  a 
narrow  defile  occupied  by  the  Moors,  in  which,  according  to  an 
expression  of  the  king  of  Castile,  one  thousand  men  could  have 
stopped  all  the  warriors  of  the  world ;  fortunately,  a  peasant  of  the 
country  discovered  to  the  leaders  a  safer  and  easier  road,  which  con- 
ducted them  to  the  top  of  the  mountain.  Mohammed,  quite  surprised 
at  their  sudden  appearance,  first  sent  bodies  of  troops  to  dispute  the 
spot  with  them,  and  aftewards  endeavored  to  bring  on  a  general  bat- 
tie,  whilst  he  justly  supposed  they  had  not  yet  recovered  from  the 
fatigues  of  a  long  and  difficult  march.  The  Christians  defeated  both 
his  attempts,  repelled  the  skirmishers,  and  took,  during  two  days,  the 
rest  which  they  needed. 

On  the  third  day,  the  sixteenth  of  July  (A.  D.  1212),  they  advanced 
in  good  order  against  the  enemy.  The  Miramolin  appeared  on  a 
height,  surrounded  by  his  bravest  troops,  and  even  by  a  large  iron 
chain,  which  was  to  be  broken  before  the  assailants  could  reach  his 
person.  The  onset  and  the  resistance  were  equally  furious  and  ob- 
stinate; and,  notwithstanding  the  prodigies  of  valor  performed  by  the 
kings  of  Castile,  Arragon  and  Navarre,  the  victory  remained  uncer- 
tain nearly  the  whole  day.  A  last  and  desperate  effort  made  by  the 
Christian  knights  spread  confusion  and  terror  among  the  infidels: 
the  intrepid  king  of  Navarre  first  of  all  broke  the  iron  chain ;  the 
whole  army  rushed  in,  and  the  Saracens  were  either  cut  in  pieces  or 
dispersed  in  every  direction.  Their  haughty  sovereign,  who  had 
anticipated  an  easy  victory  and  the  conquest  of  all  Christendom,  fled 
in  despair,  having  lost  from  one  to  two  hundred  thousand  men, 
whereas  the  Christians  did  not  lose  more  than  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  in  all,  and  even,  according  to  several  grave  historians,  not 
more  than  twenty-five  or  thirty  soldiers.*  For  this  amazing  success 
the  conquerors  acknowledged  themselves  indebted  to  a  special  inter- 
ference of  God  in  their  favor,  and  returned  Him  their  solemn  thanks 
on  the  field  of  battle. 

If  this  great  victory  did  not  entirely  prostrate,  it  at  least  considera- 
bly weakened  the  power  of  the  Saracens  in  Spain.  Nearly  the 
whole  of  this  century  was  for  them  an  uninterrupted  series  of  disas- 
ters. On  one  side,  the  brave  and  pious  king  Ferdinand  III,  of  Cas- 

*  See  Roderic  Tolet.  lib.  vin;— King  Alf.  Epist.  ad  Inn.  in :— Hurter, 
Hist,  du  Pape  Innocent  III,  vol.  in,  pp.  192—204; — F.  D'Orteans,  Hist, 
dcs  Eevol.  d'Esp.  ad  ann.  1212;— Fleury,  Hist.  Eccles.  b.  LXXVII,  n.  11  ;— 
Ddsormeaux,  Mrege  Chronol.  de  VHist.  d'Esp.  vol.  n,  p.  112; — in  fine, 
/  't/ircrs.  Hist.  vol.  Lxx,pp.  493  and  656. 


276  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Part  V 


tile,  took  from  them  Cordova,  Seville,  and  many  other  important 
cities;  on  the  other,  James  I,  king  of  Arragon,  subdued  the  Balearic 
Isles,  with  the  two  kingdoms  of  Murcia  and  Valentia,  and  added 
ihern  to  his  own  dominions. 

Not  less  important  were  the  military  transactions  which  the  same 
period  witnessed  in  Germany,  France  and  England.  The  death  of 
the  German  emperor  Henry  VI,  at  the  age  of  thirty-two  years,  had 
left  the  imperial  crown  to  be  disputed  by  two  mighty  competitors, 
Philip,  duke  of  Suabia,  and  Otho,  duke  of  Saxony.  The  latter 
seemed  to  prevail  for  a  time,  but  was  himself  finally  obliged  to  yield 
the  sceptre  to  young  Frederic  II,  son  of  the  late  emperor  Henry,  and 
grand-son  of  Frederic  Barbarossa,  whom  he  afterwards  imitated  and 
even  surpassed  in  his  reputation  for  ability,  his  ambition,  his  pride, 
his  success,  and  his  subsequent  disasters. 

France  also  and  England  had  been  engaged,  ever  since  the  third 
crusade,  in  a  vigorous  war  against  each  other.  By  Richard  and 
Philip  Augustus,  formerly  intimate  friends,  and  now  obstinate  rivals, 
the  contest  was  carried  on  for  several  years  with  alternate  success; 
but  the  death  of  the  lion-hearted  king  gave  the  French  monarch  great 
advantage.  He  then  conquered  Normandy  and  several  other  conti- 
nental provinces  of  the  British  crown.  John,  surnamed  Lack-land, 
the  successor  of  Richard,  not  having  been  able  to  preserve,  seemed 
determined  at  least  to  recover  his  transmarine  possessions.  For  this 
purpose,  and  for  other  causes,  a  powerful  confederacy  was  formed 
by  him,  the  emperor  of  Germany,  the  count  of  Boulogne,  and  the 
earl  of  Flanders,  against  France  alone,  which  was  obliged  to  divide 
its  forces,  in  order  to  oppose  so  many  enemies.  Part  of  the  troops 
were  sent  to  the  western  provinces,  where  John  had  effected  a  land- 
ing ;  his  progress,  rapid  in  the  beginning,  was  suddenly  arrested  by 
the  arrival  of  Louis,  the  son  of  Philip,  who  even  compelled  him  to 
retire,  with  a  great  loss  both  of  men  and  baggage.  But  the  final 
result  of  the  campaign  was  to  be  decided  in  the  North.  There,  after 
gaining  a  naval  victory  against  the  French  fleet,  the  English  forces 
having  landed  under  the  command  of  the  earl  of  Salisbury,  were 
joined  by  their  allies,  and  formed  with  them  an  army  of  more  than 
one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  men,  who  hastened  to  invade  the 
French  territory.  To  this  overwhelming  multitude  Philip  could 
oppose  only  fifty  thousand  combatants;  but  inferiority  of  numbers 
was  compensated  by  the  devotedness  and  bravery  of  his  knights,  the 
choicest  men  of  the  nation. 

The  two  armies  metatBouvines,an  obscure  village  between  Lille  and 
Tourney.  The  French  took  a  position  which  obliged  the 
enemy  to  face,  during  the  whole  engagement,  the  dust,  the  wind, 
and  the  rays  of  the  sun;  which  disadvantage  greatly  contributed  to 


A.  D.  1200—1223. 


WARS    THROUGHOUT    EUROPE.  277 


his  entire  defeat.  The  conflict,  however,  was  long  and  obstinato, 
and  so  furious  were  the  efforts  of  the  combatants,  that  the  chief  lead- 
ers themselves,  Philip  and  Otho,  ran  great  risk  of  their  lives.  At 
last,  the  army.of  the  confederates  was  broken,  routed  on  all  sides, 
and  pursued  with  dreadful  slaughter.  The  emperor  made  his  escape; 
the  other  generals  were  taken  prisoners ;  and  the  French  king  had 
thus  the  happiness,  not  only  to  save  his  kingdom  from  impending 
ruin,  but  also  to  obtain  a  lasting  superiority  over  all  his  enemies. 
(A.  D.  1214). 

The  battle  of  Bouvines  having  annihilated  all  the  hopes  of  King 
John  with  regard  to  France,  he  set  sail  for  England,  where  a  still 
more  disgraceful  trial  awaited  him  at  his  very  arrival.  The  excesses 
of  his  passionate  temper  and  dissolute  life  had  previously  excited 
much  indignation  against  him,  he  now  became,  in  consequence  of 
his  late  disasters,  an  object  of  contempt  to  his  own  subjects.  The 
English  barons  took  secret  measures  to  form  a  powerful  league 
against  him,  and  having  succeeded  in  assembling  a  large  body  of 
men,  asked  of  the  king,  with  threats  of  a  civil*  war,  the  revival  of 
those  privileges  which  Edward  the  Confessor  had 'gran ted  to  the 
nation,  but  which  had  been  more  or  less  disregarded  by  the  generality 
of  his  successors.  John  at  first  positively  refused;  afterwards,  seeing 
the  numerous  forces  of  the  barons,  he  yielded  to  thehr  request,  and 
e'ven  granted  more  than  had  been  originally  asked,  by  subscribing  an 
authentic  act  which  comprised  all  his  grants,  and  which,  under  the 
name  of  Magnet  Charta,  was  for  centuries  looked  upon  as  the  basis 
of  the  British  constitution.  ""^XA 

The  king,  however,  soon  appeared  dissatisfied- with  regulations 
that  had  been  extorted  frtfm  his  fears,  anft  h<?  availed  himself  of  the 
first  opportunity  to  declare  that  he  would  n^t  suffer  himself  to  be  led 
by  them  in  the-gpvernment  of  his  kingdom.  This  produced  a  second 
civil  war,  in  which  the  English  lords  applied  to, the  French  monarch 
for  assistance,  and  offered  the  crown  to  his  eldest  "son.  ^  Accordingly, 
Louis  crossed  the  sea,  and,  with  the  help  of.hts  partisans,  was 
acknowledged  king  both  in  London  and  in '"many  provinces,  with 
hopes  of*" subduing  in  a  short  time  the  other  parts  of  the  realm.  But 
the  unexpected  death  of  John,  whoth  a  violenL#ver  carried  off  after 
an  illness  of  a  few  days,  totally  changed  ti^lace  of  affairs ;  patriot- 
ism was  revived  in  the  hearts  of  the JJi!^feip4ords ;  many  of  them 
gradually  abandoned  Louis,  and  rallied  a-rOund  young  Henry,  son  of 
the  deceased  monarch.  He  was  crowned  at  Gloucester,  and  the  care 
of  his  person,  together  with  the  title  of  guardian  of  the  kingdom,  was 
intrusted  to  the  valor  and  fidelity  of  the  earl  of  Pembroke,  otherwise 
called  earl-marshal  (A.  D.  1216). 

This  faithful  and  able  minister  immediately  took  the  best  measures 
24 


278  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Part  V. 


to  secure  the  crown  on  the  head  of  his  royal  ward.  To  discredit  the 
French  party,  reports  of  depredations  committed  by  the  foreigners  and 
of  their  contempt  for  the  natives,  were  industriously  circulated;  all 
Englishmen  who  should  return  to  the  allegiance  of  their  lawful  sove- 
reign, were  promised  the  restoration  of  their  former  liberties;  a 
numerous  host  of  brave  warriors  was  quickly  assembled,  and  a  reli- 
gious character  was  given  to  the  expedition.  As  soon  as  Pembroke 
saw  his  followers  animated  with  his  own  ardor,  he  marched  to  Lin- 
coln, and,  surprising  the  main  body  of  the  hostile  forces,  gained  a 
complete  victory.  Shortly  after,  a  French  fleet,  carrying  auxiliary 
troops,  was  also  defeated  between  Dover  and  Calais.  By  this  sudden 
destruction  of  his  resources,  Louis,  who  had  until  then  kept  London 
and  several  of  the  barons  on  his  side,  was  compelled  to  give  up  all 
hope  of  success.  A  negotiation  was  instantly  opened,  and  the  terms 
having  been  settled  without  much  difficulty,  Louis  immediately 
returned  to  France,  leaving  the  quiet  possession  of  the  British  crown 
to  his  young  competitor.  He  himself  succeeded  his  father  Philip 
on  the  French  throne  (A.  D.  1223).  Having  occupied  it  three  years, 
during  which  he  showed  himself  well  worthy  of  it  by  his  lion-like 
courage  and  exemplary  virtue,  he  died  in  1226,  whilst  returning 
from  an  expedition  against  the  Albigenses. 

These  Albigenses,  so  called  from  the  city  of  Alby  in  the  south  of 
France,  where  their  numbers  appeared  greater  than  in  any  other 
place,  were  sectarians,  whose  principles,  taken  from  the  ancien* 
Manicheans  and  Gnostics,  aimed  equally  at  the  destruction  of  reli- 
gion, social  order,  and  humanity.  Shocking  and  frightful  were  the 
ravages,  depredations  and  cruelties  which  they  committed  during  a 
part  of  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries,  pillaging,  burning  and 
killing,  wherever  they  found  any  resistance  to  their  abominable 
tenets.  The  lives  of  their  fellow-mortals,  as  well  as  the  most  sacred 
objects  of  religion,  were  a  mere  sport  for  them ;  and,  during  a  long 
time,  every  attempt  to  check  the  growing  evil  proved  ineffectual.* 

After  many  years  spent  to  little  purpose  by  holy  missionaries,  such 
as  St.  Bernard,  St.  Dominic,  and  others,  in  endeavoring  to  convert 
these  wretched  and  infuriated  people  by  means  of  patience,  meek- 

*  These  facts  are  incontestably  proved  by  the  Hist.  Mbig.  of  Peter 
des  Vaux  do  Cernay,  a  contemporary  author; — by  the  letters  of  Pope 
Innocent  III ; — the  27th  Canon  of  the  third  general  council  of  Lateran,  in 
H79; — the  20th  Can.  of  the  council  of  Avignon,  in  1209;— etc.  etc. 

On  the  errors,  crimes,  and  the  whole  history  of  these  sectarians,  see 
Natalis  Alexander,  Dissertafioncs  in  Hist.  Ecclcs.  stecul.  ~x.ii,  cap.  in.  art. 
i,  vol.  vir,  p.  65; — BeVault-Bercastel,  Hist,  de  VEgl.  1.  xxxix; — F.  Fon- 
tenay,  Hisl.de  I'Eglise  Gallic.  1.  xxix,xxx; — Bergier,  Diction,  de  Theolog. 
art.  dlbigcois; — Butler,  Lives  of  the  Saints,  4th  of  August; — Hurter,  Hist 
du  papelnn.  m,  /.  xiv,  etc. 


A.  D.  190&-1227.    CONQUESTS  OF  GENGHIS-KAN.  279 

ness,  instruction  and  prayer,  it  was  unanimously  thought  necessary 
to  oppose  coercive  measures  to  their  excesses  and  disorders.  Troops 
were  raised  as  for  a  crusade,  and  marched  against  the  Albigenses 
under  the  command  of  Count  Simon  de  Montford,  a  general  of  great 
energy  and  courage,  who,  being  invested  with  full  military  and  civil 
power,  pursued  with  unrelenting  vigor,  and  sometimes  extraordi- 
nary severity,  those  desperate  sectarians,  whom  it  was  not  possi- 
ble otherwise  to  subdue.  Sometimes  abandoned  by  a  considerable 
portion  of  his  troops,  he  however  went  on,  and  gained  signal  advan- 
tages over  the  numerous  forces  of  his  opponents,  whether  Albigenses 
or  their  allies.  His  death,  which  happened  in  1218,  permitted  them, 
it  is  true,  to  regain  for  a  time  their  former  ascendency;  but,  being 
again  defeated  by  King  Louis  VIII,  their  party  was  finally  crushed 
during  the  minority  of  Louis  IX. 


CONQUESTS  OF  GENGHIS-KAN  IN  ASIA.— A.  D.  1205—1227. 


DURING  the  first  part  of  the  thirteenth  century,  Asia  was,  like 
Europe,  the  theatre  of  astounding  revolutions.  Its  whole  centre  had 
been,  for  many  ages,  occupied  by  numberless  tribes  scarcely  known 
to  the  civilized  world,  and  designated  by  the  common  name  of  Tar- 
tars. The  Moguls,  one  of  those  tribes,  were  confounded  with  the 
others  in  the  same  obscurity,  when  Temujin,  or  Genghis-Kan,  ren- 
dered them  for  ever  famous  by  his  conquests,  and  by  the  foundation 
of  an  empire  which,  comprising  in  extent  no  fewer  than  thirteen  or 
fourteen  millions  of  square  miles,  was  probably  the  greatest  unbroken 
empire  that  ever  existed. 

Temujin  was  the  son  of  a  Mogul  prince,  and  had  been  raised  with 
great  care  under  the  direction  of  a  skilful  minister.  The  death  of 
his  father  and  the  rebellion  of  his  subjects  compelled  him  to  fly  for 
safety  to  the  court  of  the  chief  sovereign  of  his  nation.  There  he 
began  to  display  that  wonderful  talent  and  activity,  that  consummato 
prudence  and  skill  both  in  war  and  government,  which  afterwards 
raised  him  so  much  above  all  the  other  princes  of  Asia.  But,  in  the 
beginning  of  his  public  career,  he  seemed  to  experience  nothing  but 
contradictions.  The  superiority  of  his  merit  soon  excited  the  jealousy 
of  many  persons  at  court,  and  even  that  of  the  sovereign  himself,  to 
such  a  degree,  that  a  powerful  league  was  formed  against  Temu- 
jin, who  endeavored  in  vain,  by  measures  of  prudence,  to  frus- 
trate its  effects.  Seeing  his  efforts  useless,  he  on  his  side  raised  a 
numerous  army,  attacked-his  enemies,  and  gained  a  decisive  victory 


280  MODERN    HISTORY. 


PartV 


which,  being  supported  by  other  advantages,  united  under  his  sway 
all  the  Mogul  tribes. 

He  no  sooner  found  himself  master  of  vast  dominions,  than  he  re 
solved  to  confirm  his  authority  by  the  public  homage  of  all  his  vas- 
sals, and  to  extend  still  farther  the  boundaries  of  his  empire.  The 
former  of  these  designs  he  accomplished  in  1205,  by  convoking  a 
general  assembly  of  the  Tartar  princes  subject  to  his  power;  and  it 
was  on  this  occasion  that  he  received  the  name  of  Genghis-Kan 
which  means  king  of  kings.  The  latter  project  was  the  object  of  his 
attention  during  the  whole  of  his  reign,  which  lasted  twenty-two 
years;  and  China  and  Persia,  with  many  other  countries,  after  hav 
ing  been  the  objects  of  his  ambitious  attacks,  became  the  reward  oi 
his  gigantic  exertions. 

It  was  particularly  in  the  two  regions  just  mentioned,  that  the  war 
conducted  by  Genghis-Kan  spread  all  its  horrors  and  ravages.  Nei- 
ther an  immense  wall  formerly  built  by  the  Chinese  to  protect  their 
frontiers  from  invasion,  nor  any  other  bulwark  and  means  of  resis- 
tance, could  save  a  flourishing  empire  from  the  attacks  of  those  num- 
berless hordes  of  Tartars,  whom  warlike  enthusiasm  and  thirst  for 
plunder  rendered  superior  to  all  sorts  of  dangers  and  fatigues.  The 
long  struggle  which  the  natives  maintained  against  these  terrible  foes, 
only  served  to  increase  their  misery;  a  considerable  part  of  their 
country  was  subdued,  and  Genghis-Kan  established  in  it  a  governor 
under  the  title  of  king. 

This  event  was  followed  by  the  conquest,  or  rather  devastation  of 
Persia,  India,  Karazm  and  other  extensive  regions.  The  Sultan  of 
Persia,  Mohammed,  having  had  the  imprudence  to  provoke  the  in- 
dignation and  resentment  of  the  Mogul  conqueror,  Genghis-Kan 
marched  against  him  at  the  head  of  seven  hundred  thousand 
men,  commanded  by  himself  and  by  his  four  sons.  The  rapidity  of 
his  conquests  cannot  be  better  expressed  than  by  comparing  it  to  a 
furious  and  destructive  torrent  which  sweeps  every  thing  before  it 
with  irresistible  fury.  Mohammed,  with  five  hundred  thousand  Per- 
sian and  Carazmian  soldiers,  endeavored  in  vain  to  stop  the  progress 
of  the  Tartars;  he  had  the  misfortune  to  see  all  his  efforts  baffled, 
his  troops  constantly  overcome,  his  most  flourishing  cities  sacked 
and  destroyed  by  the  conquerors,  and  himself  completely  overthrown 
in  a  general  battle  on  the  banks  of  the  river  Jaxartes,  near  the  Cas- 
pian Sea,  where  he  lost  one  hundred  and  sixty  thousand  men.  This 
defeat  reduced  Mohammed,  with  all  his  family  and  kingdom,  to  the 
last  extremity.  Every  thing  was  destroyed  with  fire  and  sword  in 
those  unhappy  countries,  and  millions  of  the  inhabitants  perished;  a 
number  which  will  not  appear  incredible,  if  we  consider  that  there 
never  was  perhaps  a  greater  scourge  of  nations  than  Genghis-Kan, 


A.  D.  1217—1244. 


SIXTH    CRUSADE.  281 


and  that,  according  to  some  historians,  the  whole  number  of  towns 
laid  waste  or  destroyed  by  his  armies  may  be  supposed  to  amount  to 
fifty  thousand.* 

This  terrible  conqueror  was  preparing  a  new  expedition  against  the 
remotest  parts  of  Asia,  when  he  died  (A.  D.  1227),  at  the  age  of  sixty- 
five  years,  leaving  several  sons,  the  heirs  as  well  of  his  enterprising 
and  warlike  spirit,  as  of  his  vast  dominions.  Two  of  them  particu 
larly,  Octay  and  Toley,  led  the  Moguls  to  new  victories.  Those  pro- 
vinces of  China  which  had,  till  then,  escaped  the  Tartar  yoke,  were 
subdued  like  the  rest.  At  the  siege  of  Pekin,  the  capital,  the  Tartars 
employed  machines  which  cast  enormous  fragments  of  rock;  while  the 
Chinese,  on  their  side,  darted  iron  tubes  filled  with  a  certain  powder, 
which,  bursting  upon  the  besiegers  with  a  frightful  explosion,  con- 
sumed every  thing  within  a  circumference  of  two  thousand  feet. 
These  dreadful  effects,  so  similar  to  those  produced  by  gunpowder, 
seem  to  show  that  it  was  known  and  used  in  China,  long  before  its 
discovery  in  Europe.  In  sixteen  days  and  nights,  a  million  of  per- 
sons, Chinese  and  Tartars,  perished  at  that  siege. 

From  the  western  frontier  of  Tartary,  Batu-Kan,  a  grand-son  of 
Genghis-Kan,  carried  the  devastation  of  war  through  Russia  arid  Po- 
land as  far  as  Hungary  and  Austria;  fortunately,  his  passage  was 
more  like  a  transient  storm  than  a  permanent  conquest. — Another 
Mogul  chieftain,  named  Hulagu,  took  Bagdad  in  the  year  1258,  and 
thus  put  an  end  to  the  power  of  the  Arabian  caliphs;  but  having 
crossed  the  Euphrates  in  pursuit  of  new  conquests,  his  troops  were 
defeated  and  repulsed  by  the  sultans  of  Syria  and  Egypt.  This  how- 
ever was  but  a  trifling  check  for  the  successors  of  Genghis-Kan,  and 
they  long  after  continued  powerful  in  all  central  Asia. 


SIXTH  CRUSADE.— A.  D.  1217—1244. 

THE  fifth  crusade  having  failed  to  recover  the  Holy  Land,  a  new 
one  was  earnestly  desired  by  the  Christians  of  Syria ;  and  reports 
were  diligently  circulated  that  they  stood  in  great  need  of  speedy  as- 
sistance. However,  the  necessary  succor,  owing  to  a  variety  of  ob- 
stacles, was  long  delayed;  when,  at  length,  fifty  thousand  children 
almost  simultaneously  enlisted  in  the  holy  cause,  in  France  and  Ger- 
many. To  them,  they  maintained,  Almighty  God  had  reserved  the 

*  See  for  the  destructive  conquests  of  Genghis-Kan,  Univ.  Hist.,  end  of 
46th  and  beginning  of  47th  vol. — Anquetil,  Precis  de  VHist.  Univ.,  vol.  iv, 
pp.  5S2— 39G ;— Michaut,  Hist,  des  Croisades,  vol.  iv,pp.  Ill— 121;— Le- 
bcau,  //(»/.  du  Bas  Emp.  vol.  xxr,  pp.  412—424. 


I 


282  MODERN  HISTORY.  Part  Vi 

honor  of  rescuing  his  Holy  City  from  the  hands  of  infidels.  Undci 
this  illusion,  many  embarked  at  Marseilles,  but  either  perished  during 
the  voyage  by  shipwreck  near  the  shores  -of  Italy,  or  were  betrayed 
to  the  Saracens,  among  whom  several  suffered  martyrdom.  Others, 
after  incredible  difficulties,  reached  Genoa;  but  the  Genoese  wisely 
commanded  them  to  evacuate  their  territory.  They  then  returned  to 
their  homes  ;  and,  although  a  great  number  died  on  the  road,  many 
arrived  in  safety,  and  escaped  the  fate  which  had  overtaken  the  firs! 
bands  of  their  young  fellow  adventurers. 

When  Pope  Innocent  heard  of  this  crusade,  he  is  reported  to  have 
said :  "  While  we  are  asleep,  these  children  are  awake."  At  length, 
his  untiring  exertions,  and  those  of  his  successor  Honorius  III,  suc- 
ceeded in  raising  numerous  troops  of  crusaders  in  France,  England, 
Holland,  Germany  and  Italy.  As  all  were  not  ready  at  the  same 
time,  but  set  out  in  different  years,  from  different  points,  and  for  dif- 
ferent places,  this  circumstance  produced,  not  one  expedition  only, 
but  a  series  of  expeditions,  making  the  sixth  crusade  very  long  and 
complicated.  Some  went  to  Portugal,  where  they  aided  the  Chris- 
tians of  that  country  in  conquering  the  Moors  in  the  great  battle  of 
Alcazar  (A.  D.  1218).  Others,  under  the  command  of  the  kings  of 
Hungary  and  Cyprus,  arrived  in  Palestine,  where,  after  gaining 
some  advantages,  they  met  witk  disappointment  and  disasters  instead 
of  success.  The  king  of  Cyprus  died  at  Tripoli,  on  the  coast  of 
Syria;  and  the  king  of  Hungary  returned  to  his  kingdom.  This 
circumstance,  and  the  continual  arrival  at  Ptolemais  of  fresh  sup- 
plies, left  John  of  Brienne,  the  titular  king  of  Jerusalem,  more  at 
liberty  to  direct  as  he  thought  proper  the  military  operations  of  the 
crusaders. 

He  resolved  to  attack  Egypt,  then  the  most  valuable  portion  of  the 
Mussulman  empire,  and  the  store-house,  as  it  were,  from  which  they 
drew  continually  new  supplies  of  provisions,  ammunition  and  troops. 
Accordingly,  the  Christian  army  sailed  from  Ptolemais,  and  laid  siege 
to  Damietta,  which  was  the  key  of  Egypt  on  that  side.  The  town, 
well  supplied  and  ably  defended,  resisted  eighteen  months,  and  was 
not  taken  until,  of  seventy  thousand  inhabitants,  scarcely  three  thou- 
sand remained  alive.  So  great  was  the  terror  which  both  the  siege 
and  the  capture  of  Damietta  spread  among  the  Mussulmans,  that 
they  repeatedly  offered  to  restore  Palestine,  in  order  to  save  the  rest 
of  their  dominions.  John  of  Brienne  and  many  of  the  other  chiefs 
were  of  opinion  that  the  offer  should  be  accepted;  but  the  strong 
opposition  of  several  influential  persons,  who,  under  the  impression 
that  the  moment  had  come  in  which  the  Saracen  power  was  to  be 
overthrown,  displayed  more  valor  than  prudence,  caused  it  to  be 
altogether  rejected. 


A.  D.  1217-1244.  SIXTH    CRUSADE.  283 

The  army  was  therefore  commanded  to  advance  towards  Cairo, 
the  capital  of  Egypt.  A  few  days  march  brought  the  Christians  to 
a  spot  where  the  Nile  was  to  be  crossed;  but  they  were  greatly  dis- 
appointed at  seeing  the  whole  plain  on  the  other  side  occupied  by  an 
incredible  multitude  of  soldiers,  whom  the  Sultan  Meledin  (Malek 
Kamel)  had  assembled,  to  oppose  the  progress  of  his  enemy.  There 
was  not  a  sufficient  number  of  vessels  to  attempt  the  passage  in. 
presence  of  such  a  force,  with  any  probable  hope  of  success.  Provi- 
sions, too,  began  to  be  scarce  among  the  crusaders;  and  to  complete 
their  misfortune,  the  rise  and  inundation  of  the  Nile  reduced  them  to 
the  necessity  of  retracing  their  steps  towards  Damietta. 

The  signal  for  the  retreat  was  given ;  but  the  exhausted  troops, 
incessantly  pursued  by  the  Mussulman  cavalry,  lost  thousands  of 
their  number,  and  the  survivors  were  exposed  to  imminent  danger. 
It  was  a  fortunate  circumstance  that  the  victorious  sultan  possessed  a 
generous  soul.  Moved  with  compassion  at  the  misfortunes  of  the 
Christians,  and  seeing  them  no  longer  able  to  weaken  his  power,  he 
afforded  them  the  means  of  returning  in  safety,  on  condition  that  they 
would  surrender  Damietta,  and  evacuate  all  Egypt.  These  con- 
ditions were  indeed  very  different  from  those  which  he  had  proposed 
a  few  weeks  before;  but  the  respective  situations  of  both  armies  were 
now  completely  changed.  The  treaty  met  with  a  speedy  acceptance 
and  execution;  and  the  Christians,  leaving  the  Egyptian  shores, 
returned  by  sea  to  Ptolemais,  where  their  arrival  produced  as  much 
grief  and  consternation,  as  the  news  of  their  first  success  had  produced 
hope  and  joy  (A.  D.  1221). 

Some  years  after,  the  famous  Frederic  II,  emperor  of  Germany, 
arrived  in  Palestine,  at  the  head  of  new  bands  of  crusaders.  He 
obtained,  by  a  treaty,  from  the  sultan  of  Egypt,  the  restitution  of 
Jerusalem ;  but  this  he  purchased  by  terms  otherwise  so  unfavorable, 
and  moreover  took  so  little  precaution  to  defend  the  Holy  City,  that 
it  was  soon  retaken  by  the  infidels.  The  conduct  of  Frederic  became 
a  subject  of  reproach  through  all  Christendom.  He  disregarded  the 
complaints,  returned  to  Europe,  and  there  again  indulged  his  vices 
and  unruly  passions  to  such  a  degree,  as  to  provoke  more  and  more 
the  indignation  of  his  contemporaries,  the"  censures  of  the  Church, 
and  the  anger  of  heaven;  so  that  the  end  of  his  career  was  as  gloomy 
and  miserable,  as  its  beginning  had  been  brilliant  and  prosperous. 

Palestine  was  next  visited  by  Theobaldus,  king  of  Navarre,  and  by 
some  other  princes,  who  did  nothing  very  remarkable.  Finally,: 
Richard,  earl  of  Cornwall,  and  brother  of  the  king  of  England,  arrived 
with  an  army  of  English  crusaders.  This  prince  had  sullicicnt  cour- 
age and  resolution  to  :arry  on  the  holy  war  with  more  vigor  than 
had  been  displayed  for  many  years;  but  he  found  the  Christians  oi 


284  MODERN    HISTORY.  Pnrt  v 

Syria  divided  into  so  many  parties,  that  all  he  could  do  for  them  was 
to  conclude  a  new  treaty  of  peace  with  the  Saracens  (A.  D.  1241). 
After  his  departure,  a  sudden  invasion  of  fresh  barbarians  from  Kora- 
zan  laid  waste  the  Holy  Land;  the  Christian  colonies  met  with 
repeated  losses;  and  there  now  remained  no  hope  of  restoring  their 
forlorn  affairs,  unless  some  powerful  monarch  would  take  the  arduous 
task  upon  himself. 


SEVENTH  CRUSADE.— ST.  LOUIS.— A.  D.  1244—1254. 

HENRY  III  and  Louis  IX  were  reigning  at  this  time,  the  former  in 
England,  the  latter  in  France.  The  beginning  of  Henry's  reign  had 
been  quiet.  This  prince,  being  gentle,  humane  and  religious,  at  first 
easily  won  the  hearts  of  his  subjects  by  the  solemn  sanction  which  he 
gave  to  the  privileges  contained  in  the  Magna  Charta,  and  by  the  suc- 
cess of  his  arms  against  Llewellyn,  prince  of  Wales.  Afterwards,  his 
want  of  energy,  his  prodigalities,  the  many  extortions  committed  by 
some  of  his  ministers;  above  all,  the  repeal  of  certain  national  privi- 
leges, and  the  preference  given  at  court  to  foreigners,  gradually  ren- 
dered his  government  odious  to  the  lords  and  to  the  people.  A  pow- 
erful confederacy  was  formed  against  the  king  by  the  barons,  who 
only  waited  for  a  proper  occasion  to  commence  hostilities ;  and,  in  the 
interim,  the  general  discontent  frequently  manifested  itself  by  the 
refusal  of  subsidies  or  'grants  of  money ?  to  the  government.  In  such 
circumstances,  it  was  plain  that  little  or  no  assistance  could  be 
expected  from  England  for  the  recovery  of  Jerusalem. 

France,  on  the  contrary,  was  at  that  lime  in  a  flourishing  condition 
under  Louis  IX.  This  prince,  who,  according  to  the  infidel  Voltaire 
himself,  carried  the  practice  of  virtue  to  an  uncommon  degree  of  he- 
roism, had  succeeded  his  father  Louis  VIII,  in  the  year  1226,  when 
only  twelve  years  old.  The  regency  was  intrusted  to  his  mother, 
Blanche  of  Castile,  a  virtuous  and  courageous  princess,  who,  on  one 
side,  watched  with  the  utmost  care  over  his  royal,  and  especially  his 
Christian  education;*  and,  on  the  other,  knew  how  to  repress  by 
force  of  arms  the  attempts  made  by  restless  vassals  to  obtain  an 
ascendency  over  her,  and  to  increase  their  power  at  the  expense  of 
the  crown.  When  Louis  took  the  reins  of  government  into  his  own 

*  "My  son,"  she  would  often  say  to  him,  from  his  infancy,  "  God  knows 
how  dear  you  are  to  me ;  still,  I  should  infinitely  prefer  to  see  you  fall  dead 
at  my  feet,  than  ever  see  you  guilty  of  a  mortal  sin."  These  words,  so 
worthy  of  a  Christian  mother,  had  such  an  effect  on  the  young  prince  that 
he  i«  thought  never  to  have  lost  his  baptismal  innocence. 


A.  D.  1214-1254.  SEVENTH  CRUSADE.  285 

hands,  new  wars  disturbed  his  kingdom;  and  it  again  became  neces- 
sary to  check  the  insolence  of  the  earl  of  La  Marche,  a  vassal  who 
was  the  more  dangerous,  in  consequence  of  the  mighty  aid  he 
received  from  the  king  of  England,  his  relative.  Notwithstanding 
the  great  difficulty  which  Henry  found  in  obtaining  subsidies  and 
raising  troops,  he  at  length  succeeded  in  both  these  objects ;  and, 
crossing  the  sea,  landed  in  Guyenne,  where  he  saw  himself  at  the 
head  of  a  considerable  force.  Louis,  without  losing  a  moment  of 
time,  marched  against  him,  completely  defeated  him  near  Taille- 
bourg;  and,  on  the  following  day,  gained  a  new  victory  under  the 
walls  of  Saintes.  So  much  vigor  terrified  the  rebellious  count,  who 
surrendered  at  discretion,  and  was  pardoned.  The  English  king, 
who  fled  to  Bordeaux,  hastened  likewise  to  conclude  a  treaty  of 
peace,  after  which  he  returned  to  England,  without  having  won  a 
single  laurel,  to  the  great  disappointment  of  his  subjects  (A.  D.  1242). 

Louis,  having  thus  conquered  both  his  domestic  and  foreign 
enemies,  and  freed  himself  from  the  danger  of  subsequent  attacks, 
turned  his  thoughts  to  the  affairs  of  the  East.  The  deplorable  con- 
dition of  Palestine,  and  particularly  of  Jerusalem,  under  the  Mussul- 
man yoke,  deeply  afflicted  his  generous  heart.  On  his  unexpected 
recovery  from  a  dangerous  disease,  in  the  year  1244,  he  look  the 
cross,  and  by  his  exhortations  induced  the  principal  dukes,  counts 
and  barons  of  his  kingdom,  to  imitate  his  example.  When  all  neces- 
sary preparations  were  made,  Louis  intrusted  the  care  of  the  govern- 
ment to  his  virtuous  mother,  and  embarked,  with  nearly  fifty  thou- 
sand men,  at  Aigues  Mortes,  a  sea  port  in  the  south  of  France 
(A.  D.  1248). 

The  fleet  reached  the  friendly  harbors  of  the  island  of  Cyprus  to- 
wards the  end  of  September,  and  spent  there  the  whole  winter.  In 
'.he  spring  it  sailed  again  for  Egypt,  which  the  king  with  his  council 
had  determined  to  attack  first,  as  being  the  principal  seat  of  the  Ma- 
hometan power.  The  sultan,  on  his  side,  had  taken  all  possible  mea- 
sures to  prevent  the  fleet  from  landing;  and  when  the  crusaders  ar- 
rived near  Damietta,  they  saw  the  beach  covered  with  a  countless 
multitude  of  Saracen  troops,  who  seemed  to  oppose  a  dense  forest  of 
swords  and  pikes  to  the  assailants.  This,  however,  was  but  a  trifling 
obstacle  to  the  impetuosity  of  the  French ;  Louis  himself  did  not 
wait  till  the  vessel  in  which  he  was  should  reach  the  shore;  but, 
sword  in  hand,  he  threw  himself  into  the  sea,  followed  by  his  valiant 
knights.  The  Saracens,  struck  with  terror,  were  dispersed,  leaving 
to  the  conquerors,  the  undisturbed  possession,  not  only  of  the  coast, 
but  even  of  Damietta:  measures  were  adopted  to  secure  the  important 
conquest;  and,  after  a  short  sojourn  in  the  city  and  its  environs,  the 
crusaders  marched  towards  Cairo,  the  capital  of  Egypt. 


286  MODERN   HISTORY.  Part  v 

The  Mussulmans  assembled  their  forces  on  the  opposite  side  of  a 
deep  canal  formed  by  the  Nile,  and  prevented  for  one  month  the  pas- 
sage of  the  Christian  army.  At  length,  an  Arabian  peasant  agreed, 
for  a  large  sum  of  money,  to  point  out  a  ford;  the  river  was  crossed, 
and  the  enemy  driven  from  their  camp,  would  have  again  suffered 
an  entire  defeat,  had  the  count  of  Artois,  a  brother  of  the  king, 
known  how  to  temper  his  valor  with  prudence.  At  the  sight  of  the 
Saracens  flying  in  all  directions,  this  impetuous  prince  forgot  the  or- 
der which  he  had  received,  not  to  pursue  the  fugitives  until  the  whole 
force  of  the  crusade  should  arrive.  Rushing  forward  with  a  body 
of  fifteen  hundred  knights,  he  drove  before  him  the  Mussulman 
forces.  In  vain  did  the  earl  of  Salisbury,  with  the  grand  masters  of 
the  Hospitallers  and  the  Templars,  endeavor  to  cool  his  imprudent 
ardor;  blinded  by  success,  he  still  rushed  on,  and  entered  the  city  of 
Massoura  with  the  fugitive,  who  at  first  imagined  that  they  were  pur- 
sued by  the  whole  Christian  army.  They  quickly  recovered  from 
their  panic,  and  perceiving  the  small  number  of  their  pursuers,  shut 
the  jrates  of  the  town  and  united  their  efforts  with  those  of  the  in- 
habitants, to  crush  at  once  these  brave  but  incautious  men.  A  ter- 
rible fight  took  place  in  the  streets  of  Massoura;  during  five  hours 
the  most  prodigious  display  of  courage  was  made  by  the  two  par- 
ties; but  the  Christians,  besides  being  greatly  inferior  in  force,  began 
to  be  exhausted  with  weariness.  At  last,  valor  was  overcome  by 
numbers;  almost  all  were  killed,  and  the  earl  of  Artois  fell,  together 
with  his  soldiers,  on  a  heap  of  Saracens  whom  he  had  slain  with  his 
own  hand. 

Whilst  the  Moslems  were  fighting  within  the  city,  another  furious 
engagement  took  place  around  its  walls,  and  along  the  banks  of  the 
canal.  Although  the  crusaders,  and  especially  the  king,  fought  with 
determined  bravery,  and  twice  repulsed  the  enemy,  yet  the  conse- 
quences of  this  battle  were  fearfully  fatal.  The  crusaders  were  now 
considerably  reduced,  and  nearly  all  their  horses  had  perished.  More- 
over, the  dead  bodies  thrown  into  the  Nile  infected  its  waters,  and 
gave  rise  to  a  pestilence  which,  in  a  very  short  time,  changed  the 
Christian  camp  into  a  vast  hospital.  In  fine,  the  Saracen  army  hav- 
ing succeeded  in  preventing  all  communication  between  the  crusaders 
and  the  city  of  Damietta  whence  they  drew  their  provisions,  famine 
added  its  ravages  to  those  of  the  plague,  and  rendered  the  retreat  from 
Massoura,  a  necessary,  though  a  difficult  and  perilous  attempt.  The 
king,  by  his  superior  courage  and  prudence,  might  perhaps  have  con- 
ducted this  retrograde  march  with  some  success;  but,  as  he  made  it 
his  duty  to  visit  the  sick,  as  well  as  to  repel  the  attacks  of  the  enemy, 
he  contracted  the  disease,  and  was  reduced  m  a  few  days  to  a  state 
of  complete  exhaustion.  Being  almost  at  the  point  of  death,  he 


A.  D.  1254-1268.  ST.     LOUIS,     ETC.  287 

suspended  his  march  at  a  little  town  near  the  banks  of  the  Nile,  and 
there,  notwithstanding  the  heroic  bravery  of  his  knights,  was  taken 
prisoner  with  his  surviving  brothers  and  the  sad  remnant  of  his 
troops  (A.  D.  1250). 

Louis  displayed  in  his  prison  the  firmness,  intrepidity  and  mag- 
nanimity which  he  had  always  evinced  on  the  throne  and  at  the  head 
of  armies.  The  very  barbarians  into  whose  hands  he  had  fallen, 
were  compelled  to  admire  his  noble  conduct  and  undaunted  courage; 
and  their  emirs  more  than  once  acknowledged  trial  he  was  the  bravest 
Christian  they  had  ever  seen.  At  length,  a  treaty  was  concluded,  in 
virtue  of  which  Louis,  by  restoring  Damietta,  recovered  his  liberty, 
and  by  giving  considerable  sums  of  money,  provided  for  the  ransom 
of  the  other  captives.  He  then  sailed  for  Palestine,  where,  after  his 
arrival  at  Ptolemais,  he  spent  four  years  in  promoting  the  cause  of 
religion,  securing,  as  well  as  he  was  able,  the  welfare  of  the  Christian 
colonies,  and  repairing  the  fortifications  of  the  towns  which  were 
yet  in  their  power.  The  intelligence  which  a  message  from  Paris 
gave  him  of  the  death  of  his  mother  Blanche,  induced  him  to  return 
He  was  received  in  France  with  universal  joy;  and  he  himself,  not- 
withstanding the  many  sorrows  that  afflicted  his  soul,  experienced 
the  pleasure  of  a  tender  father  just  restored  to  his  children,  and  had, 
moreover,  the  satisfaction  to  find  his  kingdom  in  the  same  peaceful 
and  prosperous  condition  in  which  he  had  left  it  six  years  before. 


ST.  LOUIS  CONTINUED.— CIVIL  WAR  IN  ENGLAND. 
A.  D.  1254—1268. 


Louis,  after  his  return  from  Palestine,  applied  more  than  ever  to 
promote  the  happiness  of  his  people  by  measures  of  justice,  statutes 
well  adapted  to  the  preservation  of  public  order,  institutions  ot 
charity,  and  the  assiduous  care  which  he  took  to  nave  his  laws  faith- 
fully executed.  So  remarkable  and  so  well  known  was  his  equity, 
that  not  only  his  subjects,  but  even  foreigners,  referred  to  hirn  with 
perfect  confidence  the  decision  of  their  quarrels.  This  particularly 
appeared  on  the  following  occasion. 

At  that  time,  the  English  barons  were  highly  incensed  against  their 
king,  Henry  III,  who  had  disregarded  their  former  complaints  res- 
pecting some  defects  of  his  government.  In  a  great  assembly  held  at 
Oxford  (\.  D.  1253),  they  not  only  demanded  the  execution  of  the 
Magna-Charta,  but  also  endeavored  to  impose  on  the  monarch  m-w 
conditions  tending  evidently  to  weaken  his  power;  conditions  which 


288  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Part  V 


he  of  course  rejected.  The  whole  subject  of  dispute  was  referred  to 
the  arbitration  of  Louis.  After  mature  discussion,  the  French  king 
pronounced  his  decision:  he  confirmed  the  national  privileges  con- 
tained in  the  Magna-Charta,  but  annulled  the  late  decrees  of  Oxford, 
as  opposed  to  the  just  authority  of  the  crown  (A.  u.  1264). 

This  decision,  however  equitable,  displeased  the  party  of  the  ba- 
ron *.  Far  from  abiding  by  it  according  to  their  previous  promise, 
they  openly  raised  the.  standard  of  insurrection  ;  and,  under  the  com- 
mand, of  the  earl  of  Leicester,  marched  with  a  numerous  army 
against  the  royalists,  who  were  commanded  by  the  king  in  person  and 
his  eldest  son  Edward.  A  battle  was  fought  near  the  town  of  Lewes, 
the  issue  of  which  proved  as  fatal,  as  the  beginning  had  been  favor- 
able to  the  royal  cause.  Prince  Edward  easily  routed  the  enemy's 
wing  opposed  to  him ;  but,  as  frequently  happens  on  such  occasions, 
instead  of  improving  his  advantage  by  falling  on  the  rear  of  the  con- 
federates, he  incautiously  pursued  the  fugitives,  and  thus  left  the  cen- 
tre of  his  own  army  undefended.  The  earl  of  Leicester  seized  the 
opportunity,  and,  making  a  sudden  and  vigorous  attack,  gained  so 
complete  a  victory,  that  the  king  himself  fell  into  his  power. 

The  victorious  count  conveyed  his  prisoner  from  town  to  town ; 
and,  leaving  him  the  name,  assumed  to  himself  all  the  authority  of  a 
sovereign.  His  daring  ambition  soon  provoked  discontent  and  hatred; 
the  yoke  which  Leicester  laid  upon  the  nation  appeared  too  heavy  ; 
and,  at  the  end  of  one  year,  the  restoration  of  Henry  was  almost 
universally  desired.  Under  these  circumstances,  Prince  Edward 
easily  succeeded  in  assembling  new  troops,  marched  against  the 
usurper,  and,  more  successful  than  before,  defeated  and  slew  him  iu 
the  sanguinary  battle  of  Evesham  (A.  D.  1265).  Not  content  with 
this  result,  he  continued  to  harass  the  confederates,  until  he  gave  the 
deadly  blow  to  their  league  by  the  reduction  of  the  island  of  Ely, 
whither  its  last  partisans  had  retired.  Thus  was  the  sceptre  again 
placed,  more  securely  than  ever,  in  the  hands  of  Henry;  and  Eng- 
land, after  so  many  disturbances,  began  to  enjoy  profound  peace, 
which  permitted  Edward  to  share  in  the  second  crusade  of  St.  LOUB 
— the  eighth  and  last  of  the  crusades. 


EIGHTH  AND  LAST  CRUSADE.— A.  D.  1263-1272. 

THE  French  monarch  had  not  been  so  dispirited  by  the  ill  success 
of  his  first  expedition,  as  to  renounce  his  project  of  waging  war 
against  the  Saracfeas  for  the  defence  of  the  Christian  colonies  in  the 
East;  he  was,  on  the  contrary,  urged  to  the  execution  of  his  design 


i.  D.  126&-1272.  EIGHTH    AND    LAST    CRUSADE.  289 

by  the  last  melancholy  news  from  Syria.  The  Moslems  there  were 
obstinately  bent  on  depriving  the  Franks  of  their  last  possessions, 
and  exercised  frightful  cruelties  against  those  whom  they  made  pri- 
soners, and  who  refused  to  embrace  Mahometanism.  But  lately, 
Antioch  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  Bendocdar,  the  sultan  of  Egypt, 
and  one  hundred  thousand  inhabitants  had  been  led  away  captive. 
Louis  once  more  expressed  his  determination  to  go  beyond  the  sea 
for  the  purpose  of  delivering  Palestine  from  its  oppressors;  and  many 
princes,  lords,  knights,  and  other  warriors,  again  flocked  to  his  stan- 
dard. Having  provided  for  the  security  of  his  kingdom  during  his 
absence,  he  embarked  with  sixty  thousand  chosen  troops  in  the 
beginning  of  July  (A.  D.  1270),  and  landed  at  Tunis  in  Africa,  near 
the  ruins  of  Carthage. 

The  chief  reason  which  prompted  St.  Louis  to  give  this  direction 
to  the  crusade,  was  that  the  king  of  Tunis  had  given  hopes  of  his 
becoming  a  convert  to  the  true  faith,  if,  in  taking  so  important  a  step, 
he  could  be  protected  from  the  displeasure  of  his  subjects.  Thia 
conversion,  were  it  to  take  place,  seemed  likely  to  facilitate  the  reco- 
yery  of  the  Holy  Land,  by  depriving  the  Egyptian  sultan  of  hia 
most  powerful  ally.  But  these  hopes  quickly  vanished.  When  the 
Christian  host  arrived  at  Tunis,  the  Mussulman  prince,  far  from 
asking  for  instruction  and  baptism,  prepared  to  make  resistance,  and 
in  every  thing  openly  acted  as  an  enemy.  Louis,  perceiving  that 
the  town  had  strong  fortifications,  and  was  defended  by  a  numerous 
garrison,  did  not  think  proper  to  commence  the  attack  before  the 
arrival  of  reinforcements  daily  expected  from  Sicily.  In  the  interim, 
he  contented  himself  with  protecting  his  camp  by  intrenchments  and 
ditches,  and  repelling  the  frequent  skirmishes  of  the  Moors. 

The  measures  taken  by  the  king  against  a  foreign  foe  were  per- 
fectly successful :  but  all  his  precaution  did  not  suffice  to  avert  the 
attacks  of  another  sort  of  enemies.  Malignant  fevers  and  dysen- 
teries, caused  by  bad  water  and  the  heat  of  the  climate,  began  to  rage 
throughout  the  camp  with  such  violence,  that  nearly  half  of  the 
army  was  carried  off  in  a  few  days.  The  king  himself  was  attacked  by 
the  disease,  and  saw  the  end  of  his  life  rapidly  approaching.  Never 
did  he  appear  greater  than  at  this  critical  juncture.  Although  he 
suffered  acute  pains,  he  continued  to  give  his  orders,  and  to  console 
every  one  around  him,  with  his  usual  tranq-uillity  and  presence  of 
mind.  At  last,  his  constitution  yielded  to  the  violence  of  the  malady; 
having  given  his  last  instruction  and  blessing  to  his  son  Philip  and 
received  the  last  sacraments  of  the  Church  with  the  most  edifying 
piety,  raising  his  eyes  towards  heaven,  he  calmly  expired,  whilst 
pronouncing  these  words  of  the  Royal  Prophet;  I  wttl  come  into  thy 
25 


290  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Part  V 


hmise;  I  will  worship  towards  thy  holy  temple  (Psalm,  v,  8).     He  had 
lived  fifty-six  years,  and  reigned  forty-four. 

In  St.  Louis,  there  was  a  rare  combination  of  personal  accomplish- 
ments, and  even  of  apparently  opposite  qualities,  which  made  hm 
not  only  superior  to  his  age,  but  confessedly  one  of  the  most  extraor- 
dinary men  that  ever  wore  a  crown.  His  love  of  religious  exercises 
was  never  an  obstacle  to  the  fulfilment  of  his  public  duties.  His  un- 
common piety,  his  simplicity  of  manners,  and  meekness  in  private 
life,  never  prevented  him  from  being  a  faithful  dispenser  of  justice, 
a  wise  legislator,  an  intrepid  warrior,  and  a  dignified  monarch.  Not 
only  France,  but  all  Europe,  and  also  popes,  kings  and  emperors, 
entertained  for  him  the  highest  respect.  He  won  the  admiration 
even  of  that  Asiatic  prince,  called  Le  vienx  de  la  montagne,  from 
whom  the  other  crowned  heads  had  so  much  to  fear  for  their  lives; 
and  of  those  terrible  Mamelukes  of  Egypt  whose  prisoner  he  was, 
and  who  once,  as  is  commonly  believed,  deliberated  whether  they 
should  appoint  him  their  sovereign.  In  a  word,  Louis  IX,  by  prac- 
tising every  royal,  military,  and  Christian  virtue  in  an  eminent 
degree,  was  at  the  same  time  a  great  king,  a  great  hero,  and  a  great 
saint.  Innumerable  witnesses  bore  testimony  to  his  unblemished 
morals  and  piety;  and  no  later  than  the  year  1297,  the  27th  after  his 
death,  he  was  solemnly  canonized  by  Pope  Boniface  VIII.* 

His  decease  caused  inexpressible  grief  among  the  soldiers.  Grief 
however  did  not  abate  their  courage;  and  the  Moslems,  especially 
after  the  arrival  of  the  Sicilians,  were  so.  frequently  and  so  signally 
defeated,  that  they  were  compelled  to  sue  for  peace,  which  was 
granted  on  conditions  both  honorable  and  advantageous  to  the  Chris- 
tians, most  of  whom  then  re-embarked  for  Europe.  A  few  only 
having  at  their  head  the  English  prince  Edward,  sailed  for  Palestine, 
for  the  purpose  of  carrying  on  the  sacred  expedition.  This  they  ditt 
during  part  of  the  year  1271 ;  but  their  small  number  prevented  them 
from  undertaking  any  thing  of  consequence;  and  Edward,  after 
having  been  exposed  to  the  danger  of  losing  his  life  both  by  sickness 
and  by  the  dagger  of  an  assassin,  availed  himself  of  the  conclusion 

*  "  Ce  fut  tin  beau  spectacle  que  celui  de  1'instruction  canonique  dans 
laquelle  le  pere  commun  des  fideles  interrogea  les  contemporains  de  Louis 
IX  sur  les  vertus  de  sa  vie  et  les  bienfaits  de  son  regne.  Des  Fraucais  de 
toutes  les  classes  vinrent  attester  sur  PEvangile  que  le  monarq  ue  aont  ils 
pleuraient  la  mort,  dtait  digne  de  toutes  les  recompenses  du  ciel.  Parmi 
eux  on  remarquait  les  vieux  compagnons  d'armes  de  Louis,  qui  avaient 
partage"  ses  fers  en  Egypte,  qui  Pavaient  vu  mourant  sur  la  cendre  devant 
Tunis.  L'Europe  entiere  confirrna  leur  religieux  te"moignage,  et  re'pe'ta 
ct'S  paroles  du  chef  de  I'e'glise  :  Maison  de  France,  rejouis-toi  d'avotr  dontil 
au  nwnde  un  si  grand  prince ;  rejouis-ioi,  pcuple  de  France,  d'avoir  eu  vn  at 
l-yn  rot.'"— Michaut,  Histoire  des  Croisades,  rot.  v,pp.  114—115. 


4.  D  1269-1272.   EIGHTH    AND    LAST    CRUSADE.  291 

of  a  truce  with  the  Saracens,  to  return  to  England,  where  he  suc- 
ceeded his  father  Henry  III,  who  had  died  during  his  absence. 

Thus  terminated  the  eighth  and  last  crusade,  in  1272.  Two  years 
after,  Pope  Gregory  X,  who  had  witnessed  with  his  own  eyes  the 
sorrows  of  Palestine,  endeavored  to  promote  a  new  expedition  in  its 
favor;  but  his  premature  death,  together  with  a  variety  of  other 
obstacles,  prevented  the  execution  of  that  design.  Hence  every  thing 
now  tended  to  the  utter  expulsion  of  the  Franks  from  Syria,  and  the 
more  so,  as  they  incessantly  provoked  the  justice  of  God  by  quarrels 
among  themselves  and  by  the  depravity  of  their  lives.  Many  of  the 
places  which  they  had  hitherto  preserved,  were  successively  and 
rapidly  conquered  by  the  sultan  Bendocdar  and  his  successors. 
Ptolemais,  then  the  capital  of  the  Christian  colonies,  saw  the  storm 
approaching  its  walls,  and  could  not  avert  it;  in  the  beginning  of 
April  (1291),  it  was  invested  on  the  land  side  by  sixty  thousand  horse 
and  one  hundred  and  sixty  thousand  infantry,  who  were  commanded 
by  the  sultan  Chalil  in  person  and  supplied  with  three  hundred  enor- 
mous machines,  destined  to  batter  and  overthrow  the  ramparts.  The 
city,  although  populous,  did  not  contain  more  than  twenty  thousand 
effective  men,  who  were  soon  reduced  to  twelve  thousand.  Still, 
they  at  first  offered,  at  every  point,  a  vigorous  and  successful  resis- 
tance, and  during  six  weeks  repelled  all  the  attacks  of  their  number- 
less foes,  producing  such  slaughter  among  them,  that  in  one  of  those 
furious  assaults,  seven  Moslems  were  said  to  have  fallen  for  one 
Christian.  But  the  losses  of  the  Saracens  could  be  easily  repaired, 
whilst  those  of  the  besieged  were  irreparable,  their  numbers  diminish- 
ing every  day,  until  there  were  but  one  thousand  warriors  left.  In 
this  frightful  distress,  even  the  heroic  intrepidity  of  the  Knights  Hos- 
pitallers and  Templars  could  uphold  only  a  few  hours  longer  the 
tottering  fortune  of  Acre;  they  resisted  almost  to  the  last;  and  it  was 
only  when  the  city  had  lost  its  defenders,  that  it  was  carried  by  storm 
on  the  eighteenth  of  May  of  the  same  year  1291. 

The  merciless  conquerors  destroyed  every  thing  with  fire  and 
eword  in  that  unfortunate  city,  slaughtering  even  a  multitude  of 
harmless  prisoners  who  had  implored  their  compassion.  The  town 
WAS  utterly  devastated.  Of  the  inhabitants  who  had  time  to  make 
their  escape  by  sea,  some  fled  to  the  island  of  Cyprus,  others  landed 
on  the  shores  of  Italy,  where  they  wandered  from  place  to  place, 
begging  their  bread,  and  relating,  with  tears,  the  sad  story  of  the  fate 
of  the  Christians  in  the  East. 


292  MODERN    HISTORY.  Part  v 


REMARKS  ON  THE  CRUSADES. 


THE  ill  success  of  the  last  crusades  entirely  extinguished  that  spirit 
of  zeal  for  the  deliverance  of  Jerusalem,  which  had  animated  the 
first  crusaders.  Succeeding  attempts  to  renew  those  expeditions, 
proved  fruitless;  and  the  wars  carried  on  in  subsequent  centuries 
between  the  Christians  and  the  Turks,  were  like  those  which  powerful, 
neighboring  and  rival  nations  wage  against  each  other. 

Like  other  transactions  of  the  middle  ages,  the  crusades  have  been, 
for  very  many  modern  writers,  an  object  of  scorn,  and  a  favorite  topic 
for  abusive  and  insulting  language.  In  the  opinion  of  these  men,  the 
crusades  were  prompted  by  unjust  and  absurd  motives;  were  car- 
ried on  without  judgment;  and  were  disastrous  in  their  consequences. 
It  is  our  duty  here  to  examine  these  charges,  and  see  whether  they 
rest  on  a  solid  foundation. 

With  regard  to  the  motives  which  prompted  the  nations  of  Europe 
to  undertake  the  crusades,  they  were  certainly  as  just  and  reasonable 
as  any  that  ever  occasioned  wars  among  men.  It  was  for  the  pur- 
pose of  putting  a  stop  to  the  barbarous  oppression  to  which  both  the 
Latin  pilgrims  and  the  eastern  Christians  were  exposed,  that  our 
European  ancestors  every  where  took  up  arms,  and  rushed  to  the 
field,  urged  by  motives  of  honor,  humanity  and  religion.  Their 
ardor  and  readiness  to  enlist  in  this  generous  enterprise,  was  more- 
over powerfully  excited  by  the  suppliant  entreaties  of  the  Greek 
emperor  Alexius,  who  called  for  assistance  against  the  same  barba- 
rians then  in  possession  of  Jerusalem.  The  desire  of  rescuing  the 
holy  sepulchre  from  the  oppressive  yoke  of  those  infidels,  may  have 
been  the  most  usual  feeling  that  actuated  many  of  the  crusaders,  but 
it  was  not  the  only  object  of  the  crusades ;  and  this  desire,  very  just 
in  itself,  as  it  merely  tended  to  attack  recent  and  cruel  usurpers,  con- 
cealed a  still  more  important  design,  namely,  that  of  saving  the  coun- 
tries of  Europe  itself  from  the  invasion  with  which  they  were 
threatened. 

Indeed,  what  was  not  to  be  feared  from  those  Mussulman  hordes, 
who  had  already  made  such  progress,  and  seemed  to  conquer  foi  no 
other  end  than  to  destroy  Christianity  and  civilizatfon !  How  alarm- 
ing was  their  restless  and  warlike  spirit,  always  inflamed  and  fostered 
by  fanaticism  and  the  desire  of  pillage !  Were  our  forefathers  then 
patiently  to  wait  for  the  yoke  of  servitude  to  be  laid  upon  them? 
Did  it  become  the  Christian  nations  to  suffer  themselves  to  be  succes- 
sively subdued  and  oppressed,  rather  than  to  oppose  a  powerful  bar- 
rier to  the  progress  of  their  common  enemy  ?  We  admire  and  praise 


REMARKS    ON    THE    CRUSADES.  293 

Annibal  for  having  crossed  seas  and  rivers  and  mountains,  that  he 
might  carry  war  into  the  centre  of  Italy,  and  conquer  the  Romans 
upon  the  very  territory  of  Rome — and  shall  we  blame  the  European 
princes  for  having  done  the  like  in  much  more  difficult  and  trying 
circumstances,  by  going  to  attack  the  Turks  and  Saracens  in  the  pro- 
vinces of  Asia,  in  the  very  bulwark  of  their  power?  In  fine,  was  it 
not  better  for  the  Latin  lords  to  turn  against  these  implacable  enemies 
the  weapons  which,  especially  during  those  turbulent  ages  of  the 
feudal  system,  they  had  so  often  used  to  attack  the  property  and  lives 
of  one  another? 

Now,  who  can  doubt  that  these  considerations  were  perfectly 
known  to  the  leaders  of  the  Christian  states ;  since,  from  the  very 
beginning  of  the  first  crusade,  Pope  Urban  II,  in  the  council  of  Cler- 
mont,  expressly  mentioned  them,  and  inculcated  them  in  a  strain  of 
animated  eloquence  :  "Warriors  who  listen  to  me,"  said  he,  "  rejoice; 
the  time  has  come  for  you  to  show  your  courage  in  the  best  of 
causes;  the  time  has  come  for  you  to  expiate,  by  your  generous 
exertions  in  a  lawful  war,  the  many  acts  of  violence  and  injustice 
which  you  have  committed  even  during  the  time  of  peace.  After 
being  so  long  the  terror  of  your  own  countrymen  and  fellow-Chris- 
tians, go  now,  and,  taking  the  sword  of  the  Maccabees,  protect  the 
people  of  God  and  defend  your  persecuted  brethren  against  the 

implacable  enemies  of  the  Christian  name Mussulman  impiety 

has  overspread  the  fairest  regions  of  Asia;  Ephesus,  Nice,  Antioch, 
have  become  Mahometan  cities;  the  barbarous  hordes  of  the  Turks 
have  planted  their  colors  on  the  very  shores  of  the  Hellespont, 
whence  they  threaten  war  to  all  the  states  of  Christendom.  Unless 
you  oppose  a  mighty  barrier  to  their  triumphant  course,  how  can 
Europe  be  saved  from  invasion?  how  can  the  storm  be  averted,  which 
has  so  long  threatened  to  burst  upon  our  countries?"* 

Such  were  the  motives,  such  the  objects  of  the  crusades ;  can  any 
be  conceived  more  pure,  more  noble  than  these?  and,  consequently, 
were  not  the  crusades  as  just  as  any  other  wars  of  that  or  any  period? 
They  cost,  it  is  true,  the  lives  of  nearly  two  millions  of  crusaders;  but 
the  loss,  although  lamentable  in  itself,  was  far  from  being  as  extraor- 
dinary and  dreadful  as  might  at  first  sight  appear.  1°.  It  was  not 
greater  than  that  occasioned  by  wars  much  less  important  and  justi- 
fiable, and  of  much  shorter  duration.  The  conquests  of  Genghis-Kan 
alone  destroyed  five  or  six,  some  say,  eighteen  millions  of  individuals. 
The  war  for  the  succession  of  Spain,  which  did  not  last  more  than  twelve 
years  (1701 — 1713),  carried  off  two  millions  of  persons. — Napoleon 

*  From  contemporary  authors,  apud  Michaut,  vol.  i,  pp    104  and  106 
See  also  CoUect.  Condi,  vol.  x.  col.  511—516. 

25* 


294  MODERN   HISTORY.  Part  Vl 

Bonaparte,  in  the  course  of  twenty  years  (1795 — 1815),  is  supposed 
to  have  occasioned  the  death  of  no  fewer  than  seven  or  eight  mil- 
lions of  men,  mostly  to  gratify  his  ambition  and  desire  of  military 
fame ;  yet,  this  man  is  admired  and  extolled  as  the  greatest  hero  of 
modern  times,  and  the  promoters  and  leaders  of  the  crusades,  whose 
views  were  so  upright,  so  grand,  and  so  generous,  are  bitterly  and 
mercilessly  censured!  2°.  The  number  of  those  who  perished  in 
consequence  of  the  holy  wars,  ought  rather  to  appear  comparatively 
small,  if  we  consider  that  it  must  be  divided  between  almost  all  the 
nations  of  Europe,  and  that,  too,  during  the  long  interval  of  nearly 
two  hundred  years.  3°.  The  loss  of  so  many  individuals  was  com- 
pensated by  the  invaluable  benefits  which  resulted  from  the  crusades, 
and  which  will  be  mentioned  in  the  course  of  these  remarks.  Let 
a  single  observation  suffice  here:  two  millions  of  Christians  may 
have  perished  in  those  distant  expeditions;  but,  in  thus  perishing, 
they  saved  European  civilization,  secured  the  independence  of  Chris- 
tian states,  and  laid  the  foundation  of  the  happiness  of  future  gene- 
rations; do  they  deserve  censure  for  all  this?  and  does  it  become 
those  who  now  enjoy  the  benefits  resulting  from  their  generous 
devotedness,  to  complain  of  their  conduct? 

Again ;  if  our  European  ancestors  were  not  allowed  to  feel  a  deep 
concern  in  the  most  sacred  monuments  of  their  faith,  and  to  defend 
the  cause  of  God  against  savage  barbarians;  if  they  had  no  right  to 
assist  and  relieve  a  cruelly  oppressed  people,  and  to  deliver  them  and 
their  country  from  cruel  usurpers;  if  they  committed  an  injustice  in 
repelling  from  defenceless  frontiers  a  restless  and  rapacious  foe, 
whose  object  was  pillage,  bloodshed  and  destruction — then,  indeed, 
we  might  with  truth  assert  that  they  were  awfully  mistaken  in  thus 
laying  down  their  lives  for  religion,  their  country,  and  their  fellow- 
men  ;  and  that  we  alone,  with  our  degenerate  sentiments,  our  con- 
tracted views  of  pecuniary  speculations  and  self-interest,  are  wise, 
enlightened  and  praiseworthy!  But  who  would  make  the  odious  as- 
sertion?— who,  on  the  contrary,  is  so  insensible  to  all  that  is  noble, 
grand  and  generous  in  human  actions,  as  to  withhold  from  the  reli- 
gious and  social  heroism  which  prompted  our  forefathers  to  undertake 
the  crusades,  the  merited  homage  of  sincere  admiration. 

Let  us  now  view  the  manner  in  which  these  expeditions  were  con 
ducted.  It  is  true  that,  notwithstanding  the  wise  regulations  re- 
peatedly enacted  by  popes  and  princes,  many  disorders  and  excesses 
were  committed  by  the  crusaders ;  but  this  is  no  reason  to  impeach  the 
lawfulness  and  justice  of  the  crusades  themselves,  since  similar  dis- 
orders and  excesses  have  occurred  in  other  wars,  even  the  most  just 
and  necessary.  This  unfortunate  circumstance  then  is  not  the  fault 
of  the  military  enterprise  itself,  but  of  the  individuals  who  have  a 


REMARKS    ON    THE    CRUSADES. 

share  in  it;  and  merely  proves,  that  man  is  always  accompanied  by 
his  passions,  and  that  there  is  no  object,  how  good  and  excellent  so- 
ever, which  may  not  be  abused,  and  become,  through  his  instrumen- 
tality, an  occasion  of  evil. 

Moreover,  if  many  of  those  who  called  themselves  the  soldiers  of 
the  cross,  committed  'depredations,  cruelties  and  other  excesses,  how 
many  also,  especially  among  the  leaders,  acted  with  a  moderation  and 
dignity  worthy  of  the  cause  which  they  defended!  How  often, 
whilst  contending  with  the  treachery  of  the  Greeks  or  the  ferocity  of 
the  Turks,  did  they  content  themselves  with  displaying  a  magnani- 
mous courage,  and  a  chivalric  adherence  to  their  promises !  How 
many  specimens  did  they  exhibit  of  energetic  resolution,  generous 
feelings,  invincible  patience  and  noble  fortitude!  Let  the  facts  speak 
for  themselves:  the  history  of  the  crusades  presents  so  many  acts  of 
virtue  and  glorious  feats  of  arms,  that  it  will,  notwithstanding  the  pre- 
judices of  the  day,  for  ever  remain  the  most  interesting  portion  ot 
the  history  of  the  middle  ages. 

As  to  the  result  of  these  grand  and  noble  expeditions,  there  were 
numerous  obstacles  to  their  full  success  with  regard  to  the  conquesi 
and  lasting  possession  of  Palestine,  viz.  the  distance  of  countries, 
the  difference  of  climates;  the  excessive  heat  and  other  inconveni- 
ences of  the  weather;  the  scarcity  or  bad  qualities  of  the  provisions, 
which  occasioned  malignant  fevers,  dysenteries  and  pestilential  dis- 
eases; the  mixture  and  jealousy  of  different  nations;  the  opposite 
views  and  interest  of  their  leaders;  etc.  etc.  Still,  although  the  cru- 
sades did  not  fully  attain  their  immediate  object,  the  entire  recovery 
and  the  preservation  of  the  Holy  Land,  great  and  invaluable  were 
the  advantages  which  they  otherwise  produced. 

The  first  was,  as  we  have  already  observed,  the  remarkable  dimi- 
nution of  the  power  of  both  the  Saracens  and  the  Seljukian  Turks, 
who  were  thus  prevented  from  penetrating  into  the  heart  of  Chris- 
tendom. 

Another  happy  effect  which  the  crusades  very  naturally  had,  was 
to  procure  the  absence  of  a  multitude  of  petty  princes  and  chieftains, 
who  were  almost  constantly  quarrelling  among  themselves  or  with 
their  sovereigns,  and  whose  restlessness  had,  until  then,  brought  so 
many  evils  upon  the  fairest  portions  of  Europe.  The  oppressions, 
and  other  evil  consequences  of  the  feudal  system  gradually  disap- 
peared ;  travelling  became  easier  and  more  secure ;  towns  and  bo- 
roughs obtained  their  enfranchisement;  etc. 

In  the  third  place,  the  necessity  of  transporting  the  crusading  ar- 
mies to  Egypt  and  Palestine,  naturally  improved  the  art  of  naviga 
tion.  The  mariner's  compass,  invented  some  time  before,  began  to 
be  used  during  the  seventh  crusade,  and  prepared  the  discovery  of 


296  MODERN  HISTORY.  Part  v 

the  cape  of  Good   Hope,  and  the  still  more  important  discovery 
of  America. 

Fourthly — Commerce,  the  profits  of  which  were  undoubtedly  a 
powerful  motive  for  some  of  the  crusaders,  was  also  vastly  enlarged 
by  the  constant  intercourse  of  the  European  nations  with  their  colo- 
nies in  Asia.  Venice,  Genoa,  Pisa,  and  other  maritime  towns,  ra- 
pidly increased  in  wealth,  power  and  glory.  New  and  valuable  arti- 
cles were  imported  from  the  East  into  the  West,  and,  succeeding 
well  upon  this  new  soil,  formed  several  important  branches  of  trade, 
such  as  the  sugar-cane  and  its  produce,  with  which  the  crusaders  be- 
came acquainted  in  1099;  silk,  which  commenced  to  be  manufactured 
in  Italy  towards  1209;  many  useful  medicaments;  etc. 

In  fine,  the  daily  communications  of  our  ancestors  with  Greece 
and  Syria,  were  one  of  the  most  powerful  helps  towards  the  com- 
plete revival  of  literature,  arts  and  sciences.  Hence  we  see  that  the 
principal  universities  of  Europe  were  founded  in  the  twelfth  or  in 
the  thirteenth  century,  during  or  immediately  after  the  crusades:  v.  g. 
those  of  Padua  and  Paris  about  the  year  1180; — that  of  Naples,  in 
1230; — Vienna,  in  1238; — Salamanca,  in  1240; — Cambridge,  in 
1280; — Lisbon,  in  1290;  etc.  Decrees  were  issued  by  popes  and  coun- 
cils to  establish  in  Rome,  Oxford,  Paris,  Bologna  and  Salamanca, 
classes  and  masters  of  Hebrew,  Arabic  and  Chaldaic;  the  masters 
being  moreover  bound  to  translate  into  Latin  the  best  works  origi- 
nally written  in  these  languages.  From  that  time  also,  geography 
began  to  be  much  better  known;  chemistry,  or  rather  alchymy 
opened  its  laboratories;  and,  besides  a  multitude  of  eminent  scholars 
and  divines,  the  age  of  the  crusades  produced  many  excellent  histo- 
rians, William  of  Tyre,  Roger  Hoveden,  Villehardouin,  Joinville, 
and  others.* 

*  The  truth  of  these  remarks  has  not  escaped  the  learned  authors  of  the 
English  Universal  History.  "  The  result  of  the  crusades,"  they  say,  "  al 
though  fatal  to  some  particular  nations,  was  extremely  advantageous  to 
Christendom  at  large ;  they  stopped  the  progress  of  the  Mahometan  power, 
at  the  time  of  its  greatest  efforts  ;  they  taught  the  princes  of  Europe  the 
value  of  a  navy ;  and,  by  making  them  better  acquainted  with  the  situa- 
tion, productions  and  political  state  of  the  vast  countries  «f  Asia,  they 
opened  the  way  for  those  discoveries  and  conquests  which  have  been,  in 
after  times,  an  inexhaustible  source  of  gain.  These  advantages,  it  is  true, 
were  not  reaped  but  at  a  long  interval  after  the  crusades,  and  this  is  the 
reason  why  so  few  authors  have  viewed  them  under  a  proper  aspect;  but 
the  fact  itself  is  not  less  evidently  demonstrated.  Even,  at' the  remote  pe- 
riod when  those  expeditions  took  place,  a  Venetian  (Sanudo,  in  a  work  en- 
titled: Secreta  fidelium  Crucis)  wrote  a  learned  and  judicious  treatise  on 
this  subject,  which,  though  it  had  then  little  effect,  furnishes  us  at  least  with 
an  incontestible  proof,  that  these  happy  consequences  of  the  crusades  haa 
been  foreseen  long  before  they  happened  and  could  be  generally  under- 
stood." Univ.  Hist.  vol.  LV,  p.  279.  See  also  Histoire  du  Bos  Empire, 


REMARKS    ON    THE   CRUSADES.  297 

Such  were  the  immense  and  lasting  ADVANTAGES  produced  by 
those  expeditions  against  which  so  much  spleen  has  been  vented 
within  the  three  last  centuries ;  advantages  far  greater  than  the  par- 
tial and  transitory  EVILS  to  which  the  same  enterprises  accidentally 
gave  occasion,  and  well  calculated  to  remove  from  the  minds  of  the 
most  prejudiced  any  impression  unfavorable  to  the  crusades. 

(A.  M.  SS.  C.  G.,  Paris,  1838),  vol?i,pp.  434 — 440 ;— Bdrault-Bercastel, 
f>if>rnnrs  sur  le  troisieme  tige  de  VEglise ; — Bergier,  Diction.  Theolog.,  art, 
Crvt&ades ; — Nonnote,  Erreurs  de  Voltaire,  vol.  i,  cA.  xvm. 


PART    VI. 


THE   END    OF   THE    CRUSADES    (A.   D.    1272),   TO    THE   DISCOVKEY 
OF    AMERICA    (A.    D..  1492). 


ENGLAND,    WALES,   AND    SCOTLAND,    UNDER    KINGS    ED- 
WARD   I   AND   II.— A.  D.  1273—1314. 


PRINCE  Edward,  after  his  return  from  Palestine,  ascended  with- 
out opposition  the  throne  of  his  ancestors,  and  occupied  it,  during 
thirty-four  years,  with  great,  though  not  unblemished  glory.  His 
government  was  vigorous,  but  frequently  despotic;  his  exploits  were 
remarkable,  but  often  accompanied  with  an  excessive  rigor  bordering 
on  cruelty ;  on  the  whole,  Edward  I  deserved  the  reputation  of  an 
able  rather  than  of  a  good  monarch.  Naturally  ambitious,  he  resolved 
to  restore  to  the  English  crown,  by  his  conquests,  its  former  dignity 
which  had  been  considerably  diminished  by  the  misfortunes  and 
weakness  of  the  two  last  kings,  and  he  aspired  to  concentrate  in 
himself  the  sovereignty  of  the  whole  island  of  Great  Britain;  nor  was 
he  entirely  disappointed  in  his  endeavors. 

"  Great  Britain,  not  including  Ireland,  contained  three  separate  states, 
viz.  the  two  kingdoms  of  England  and  Scotland,  and  the  principality 
of  Wales.  This  last  was  at  that  time  under  the  sway  of  Llewellyn, 
a  prince  who  had  inherited  from  his  family  a  deep  hatred  against  the 
English,  and  in  preceding  wars  had  conquered  them  in  many  battles. 
Contrary  to  the  practice  of  several  of  his  predecessors,  he  sternly 
refused,  at  the  accession  of  Edward,  to  do  him  homage  for  his  do- 
minions. Edward,  thus  provoked,  seized  the  opportunity  offered 
him  to  attack  the  Welsh;  and,  declaring  open  war,  invaded  their 
country  with  superior  forces.  It  was  in  vain  that  Llewellyn  took 
refuge  among  the  inaccessible  mountains  which  had,  for  many  ages, 
defended  his  ancestors  against  all  the  attempts  of  Roman  and  Saxon 
conquerors ;  Edward,  not  less  active  than  vigilant,  penetrated  into 
the  very  heart  of  the  country,  and  prepared  to  force  the  Welsh  in 
their  last  retreats.  Llewellyn,  seeing  himself  destitute  of  all  resources, 


D.  1273—1315. 


299 


consented  to  make  his  submission,  which  however  did  not  last  long; 
.*>€  withdrew  it  once  more,  but  was  slain  in  a  decisive  engagement 
'iear  the  river  Wye,  and  with  him  expired  the  independence  of  Wales 
(A.  D.  1283).  This  principality  was  thenceforth  united  to  the  Eng- 
lish crown,  and  given,  as  a  portion,  to  the  eldest  sons  of  the  English 
monarchs. 

Shortly  after  the  subjugation  of  Wales,  the  affairs  of  Scotland  en- 
gaged Edward's  attention,  and  gave  him  hopes  of  adding  that  king- 
dom also  to  his  dominions.  There  were  several  competitors  for  the 
crown ;  the  English  monarch,  to  whom  the  controversy  was  referred 
(A.  D.  1290),  acted  first  as  mediator;  but,  as  new  difficulties  daily 
arose  among  the  Scottish  lords,  he  soon  began  to  act  the  part  of  a 
conqueror.  Yet,  notwithstanding  his  great  exertions  and  many  vic- 
tories, the  conquest  never  was  complete  nor  secure.  During  the 
remainder  of  his  life,  the  Scots  frequently  shook  off  the  yoke,  and, 
after  his  death,  which  happened  in  1307,  entirely  recovered  their 
national  freedom,  under  the  weak  reign  of  his  son  Edward  II.  In 
this  protracted  war,  the  most  famous  champions  of  Scottish  liberty, 
were  William  Wallace,  who  for  some  time  proved  a  match  for  all 
the  efforts  of  ihe  English ;  and  Robert  Bruce,  who  fought  the  cele- 
brated battle  of  Bannock-Burn  against  King  Edward  II,  and,  by  a 
signal  victory,  secured  the  independence  of  Scotland  (A.  D.  1314). 


GERMANY  UNDER  THE  EMPEROR  RODOLPH  OF  HAPS 
BURG.- COMMENCEMENT  OF  THE  HELVETIAN  CON- 
FEDERATION.— A.  D.  1273—1315. 


EVER  since  the  death  of  Frederic  II  in  1250,  Germany  had  been 
in  a  state  of  confusion  and  disorder.  The  people  were  oppressed  j 
robberies,  and  other  excesses  were  daily  committed  with  impunity; 
public  and  private  wars  continued  without  interruption.  In  this  de- 
plorable crisis,  a  man  of  uncommon  prudence,  courage  and  firmness, 
was  indispensably  required  to  check  so  many  evils;  such  a  man  was 
found  in  Rodolph,  count  of  Hapsburg,  from  whom  sprung  the  illus- 
trious family  of  Austria.  Being  chosen  emperor  in  1273,  by  the 
unanimous  votes  of  the  German  princes,  he  immediately  directed  all 
his  efforts  to  the  restoration  of  order  and  tranquillity.  Success  at- 
tended his  exertions;  and  Germany,  recovering  from  her  calamities, 
enjoyed  under  him  a  peace  to  which  she  had  long  been  a  stranger. 

Still,  it.  was  not  in  the  power  of  Rodolph  to  bring  back  the  empire 
to  its  former  extent  and  splendor.  During  the  interregnum  that  pre- 
ceded his  reign,  the  state  had  been  stripped  of  important  provinces, 


I 


300  MODERN    HISTORY.  fir.^ 

two  of  which,  Sicily  and  Naples,  being  first  subdued  and  possessed 
by  the  French  under  Charles  of  Anjou,  the  brother  of  St.  Louis,  suc- 
cessively passed  into  the  hands  of  the  Arragonian  kings,  the  former 
in  1282,  by  the  slaughter  of  the  French,  an  event  well  known  under 
the  name  of  The  Sicilian  Vespers,  and  the  latter  by  conquest,  at  a 
subsequent  period.  Another  revolution  took  place  under  Albert,  the 
son  of  Rodolph,  in  1308,  when  Switzerland  began  to  form  itself  into 
an  independent  republic. 

Until  then,  Switzerland,  formerly  called  Helvetia,  had  been  a  por- 
tion of  the  German  empire.  Its  inhabitants,  great  lovers  of  their 
country  and  of  liberty,  considered  themselves  rather  under  the  pro- 
tection than  under  the  authority  of  the  emperor,  and  valued  their 
privileges  more  than  life  itself.  The  emperor  Albert  had  the  impru- 
dence to  provoke  their  indignation,  by  summoning  them  to  become 
vassals  to  him  as  duke  of  Austria;  and  he  moreover  excited  their 
resentment,  by  appointing  as  governors  over  the  Helvetian  districts 
three  men  commonly  represented  as  capable  of  the  most  tyrannical 
excesses.  To  the  summons,  the  spirited  natives  returned  a  peremp- 
tory refusal,  and  to  the  oppression  which,  it  is  said,  soon  began  to 
weigh  heavy  upon  them,  they  prepared  to  oppose  an  undaunted 
resistance,  under  the  direction  of  the  famous  William  Tell  and  some 
others  of  their  countrymen,  remarkable  for  their  eminently  indepen- 
dent and  intrepid  character.  Many  historians  add  that  William  Tell 
had  been  goaded  on  to  vengeance,  by  the  tyrannical  command  of  one 
of  the  three  governors  to  shoot  an  apple  from  the  head  of  his  own 
son  at  a  distance  of  a  hundred  feet;  which  he  did  without  hurting  a 
hair  of  the  youth.  But,  whatever  may  be  said  of  this  circumstance, 
which  is  by  others  called  in  question,  and  which  really  wears  a  ro- 
mantic appearance,  the  conspiracy  of  the  Helvetians  against  a  foreign 
domination  was  vigorously  conducted.  They  took  and  destroyed  the 
castles  that  had  been  the  seat  of  tyranny,  and  either  put  their 
oppressors  to  death,  or  obliged  them  with  their  satellites  to  evacuate 
the  country. 

All  hope  of  reconciliation  between  the  emperor  and  the  Helvetians 
was  now  destroyed.  At  the  first  intelligence  of  the  insurrection, 
Albert  prepared  to  check  it  by  marching  in  person  against  those 
whom  he  viewed  as  rebels  ;  but  he  was  murdered  at  that  very  time,  on 
the  banks  of  the  river  Reuss.  The  districts  of  Uri,  Underwalden. 
and  Schweitz,  availed  themselves  of  the  disturbances  which  followed 
his  death,  to  strengthen  their  coalition.  It  was  not  long,  however, 
before  they  saw  themselves  attacked  by  a  formidable  army  of  Aus- 
trians  under  the  command  of  Duke  Leopold,  a  son  of  the  emperor 
Albert.  With  full  confidence  of  victory,  this  prince  ventured  to 
penetrate  into  the  heart  of  Switzerland  through  a  narrow  defile  called 


A.  D.  1273--1315.  GERMANY;   ETC.  301 

Morgarten,  while  thirteen  hundred  men  of  the  district  of  Schweitz 
took  upon  themselves  the  charge  of  defending  it  against  that  multi- 
tude of  Germans,  as  formerly  three  hundred  Spartans  attempted  to 
stop  the  Persians  in  the  straits  ol  Thermopylae.  The  Helvetians 
posted  themselves  on  the  summits  of  the  surrounding  mountains, 
and,  as  soon  as  the  Austrians  had  entered  that  narrow  path,  cast 
upon  them  enormous  fragments  of  rocks,  which  destroyed  the  cavalry 
and  threw  the  infantry  in  disorder;  then,  rushing  down  with  resist- 
less fury,  they  cut  nearly  all  the  enemy  to  pieces,  whilst  they  them- 
selves lost  only  fourteen  men. 

A  little  before  the  battle,  fifty  men,  who  had  been  lately  banished 
Cor  misconduct,  came  and  offered  to  atone  for  their  former  delinquen- 
cies by  shedding  their  blood  in  defence  of  their  country.  However 
useful  their  assistance  might  be  to  the  small  army  of  the  Helvetians, 
it  was  looked  upon  as  disgraceful,  and  consequently  rejected.  No 
refusal  could  be  more  mortifying  nor  more  disparaging  than  this  to 
the  exiles  ;  but  patriotism  made  them  superior  to  every  consideration. 
When  the  fight  commenced  in  the  valley  of  Morgarten,  this  little 
band  attacked  the  Austrians  with  undaunted  valor,  spread  terror  and 
destruction  wherever  they  went,  and  greatly  contributed  to  the  victory 
of  their  countrymen.  What  they  had  just  done,  inspired  them  with 
greater  confidence  than  before;  after  the  battle,  they  did  not  hesitate 
to  make  their  appearance  in  the  camp  of  the  conquerors,  and  were 
received  by  them  with  every  possible  mark  of  gratitude  and  exultation. 

The  battle  of  Morgarten  was  a  fatal  blow  given  to  the  Austrian 
power  in  Helvetia,  whose  inhabitants  could  now  justly  hope  that 
their  liberty  was  secure.  From  that  time  they  formed  themselves 
into  a  regular  confederacy,  founded  on  a  few  plain  and  simple  prin- 
ciples. As  the  struggle  ibr  independence  had  taken  place  particularly 
in  the  territory  of  8chweitz,  and  the  victory  had  been  gained  chiefly 
by  the  exertions  of  the  natives,  the  other  districts  adopted  that  name 
for  themselves.  At  first,  they  were  only  three  in  number;  but,  in 
the  course  of  time,  the  neighboring  districts  and  towns  joined  the 
confederacy,  and  by  this  union  formed  the  nation  of  the  Swiss: 
a  nation  much  celebrated  for  its  uprightness  and  loyalty,  till  the 
latter  years,  when  its  government  has  been  given  up  to  a  reckless 
spirit  of  tyranny,  injustice,  and  persecution. 


26 


302  MODERN    HISTORY.  Part  VL 


PROSECUTION  AND  ABOLITION  OF  THE  KNIGHTS 
TEMPLARS.— A.  D.  1307—1312. 


THE  Knights  Templars,  whose  institution  we  mentioned  before,  had 
now  been  in  existence  for  nearly  two  hundred  years.  During  that 
time,  their  devotedness  to  the  cause  of  Christendom,  their  heroic 
valor  and  exploits  against  the  Saracens,  had  acquired  for  their  order 
an  extraordinary  reputation  and  immense  riches.  But  wealth  and 
power  generated  among  them  a  spirit  of  arrogance  and  independence, 
which  exasperated  both  the  civil  and  ecclesiastical  authorities.  They 
became  proud,  intemperate,  insolent,  and  were  daily  falling  into  ill 
repute,  when  some  of  their  discontented  members  gave  notice  to  tne 
French  king,  Philip  the  Fair,  of  still  more  shocking  and  heinous 
crimes  committed  in  the  order. 

The  charges  were  of  such  a  nature,  that  they  at  first  served  only 
to  excite  indignation  against  their  authors.  It  was  however  thought 
advisable  to  make  new  inquiries,  the  result  of  which  induced  Philip 
to  have  all  the  Templars  of  his  kingdom  arrested  on  the  same  day,  the 
thirteenth  of  October  (A.  D.  1307).  A  committee  which  he  appointed 
in  Paris,  tried  one  hundred  and  forty  knights,  all  of  whom,  except 
three,  acknowledged  the  justice  of  the  accusation  under  which  they 
lay ;  and  not  only  they,  but  even  the  grand-master  and  chief  comman- 
ders  of  the  Templars  twice  confirmed  the  same  by  their  own  free  and 
express  acknowledgment.  In  fine,  seventy-two  others,  were  exam- 
ined at  Poitiers,  and  all  confessed  themselves  guilty  of  the  principal 
crimes  laid  to  their  charge. 

As  the  persons  thus  accused  belonged  to  an  order  which  was  reli- 
gious as  well  as  military,  Pope  Clement  V  took  cognizance  of  the 
affair,  and  conducted  it  with  the  most  assiduous  attention  and  scru- 
pulous impartiality.  Struck  at  the  unanimity  that  existed  in  the 
accusations,  testimonies  and  free  avowals  of  so  many  persons,  several 
of  whom  he  liimself  had  examined,  he  wrote  to  all  the  Christian 
princes  in  Europe,  that  they  also  might  take  proper  measures  against 
the  evil.  Every  where,  the  Templars  were  put  under  arrest,  and 
courts  of  inquiry  were  appointed  according  to  the  pope's  command, 
to  examine  the  accusations  brought  against  them.  The  prisoners 
were  strictly  interrogated,  especially  with  regard  to  the  charges  of 
profligacy,  apostacy  and  impiety.  Several  of  them  pleaded  guilty, 
and  threw  themselves  on  the  clemency  of  their  judges;  while  many 
others  declared  themselves  innocent,  and  could  not  be  convicted  of 
any  crime. 

It  appears,  in  fact,  that  the  order  was  not  equally  corrupt  in  all 


A.  D.  1307-1312.  PROSECUTION,    ETC.  303 

places;  which  fact  accounts  for  the  different  treatment  its  several 
members  received  in  different  countries.  Many  were  acquitted,  par- 
ticularly in  Germany  and  Spain ;  others  were  condemned  to  perpetual 
or  temporary  confinement;  others,  in  fine,  who  were  convicted  of 
enormous  crimes,  and  still  obstinately  asserted  their  innocence  or 
even  retracted  their  previous  free  avowal  of  their  guilt,  were  delivered 
to  the  secular  power,  to  be  punished  according  to  the  rigor  of  the 
law.  Fifty-nine  were  burned  at  the  stake  in  Paris,  nine  at  Senlis, 
and  several  others  in  the  south  of  France. 

As  for  the  grand-master,  James  of  Molay,  and  the  chief  comman- 
ders, who  were  kept  with  him  in  safe  custody  at  Paris,  the  pope  had 
reserved  to  himself  the  decision  of  their  fate.  In  virtue  of  the  sen- 
tence passed  against  them  by  the  papal  commissaries,  they  were  to 
be  punished  only  by  confinement,  on  condition  that  they  would  repeat, 
in  the  presence  of  the  people,  their  former  acknowledgment  of  their 
guilt.  Two  of  them  obeyed  and  were  treated  with  mildness;  but 
James  of  Molay  and  another  Ternplar,  contrary  to  public  expecta- 
tion, suddenly  exclaimed  that  their  order  was  innocent  and  had  been 
calumniated.  The  papal  legates,  greatly  astonished  and  perplexed, 
sent  them  back  into  custody,  and  prepared  to  deliberate  on  the  strange 
incident.  But  the  king,  highly  incensed  at  the  unaccountable  con- 
duct of  the  knights,  would  not  wait  any  longer.  He  directly  took  the 
advice  of  his  lay-counsellors,  and,  on  the  evening  of  the  same  day, 
caused  the  two  prisoners  to  be  transported  to  a  small  island  formed  by 
the  river  Seine,  and  there  to  be  thrown  into  the  flames.  The  grand- 
master displayed,  in  that  awful  moment,  his  characteristic  courage, 
which  made  a  deep  impression  on  the  spectators.  He  is  even 
reported  to  have,  a  short  time  before  expiring,  summoned  Pope  Cle- 
ment to  appear  within  forty  days,  arid  King  Philip  within  the  space 
of  one  year,  before  the  tribunal  of  their  common  and  sovereign  Judge. 
But  this  story  seems  devoid  of  proof,  being  omitted  by  all  the  histo- 
rians of  that  time,  and  contradicted  by  the  best  critics  of  more  recent 
date,  particularly  by  Mariana,*  F.  Brumoy,f  Natalis  Alexander,:}:  etc. 

As  to  the  order  itself,  whether  it  should  be  abolished  or  maintained, 
this  was  a  question  to  be  decided  by  the  pope.  For  this  purpose, 
and  for  other  important  affairs,  he  convoked  a  general  council  to  be 
held  at  Vienne  in  France,  towards  the  close  of  the  year  1311.  The 
inquiries  about  the  Templars,  and  their  different  trials  having  now 
occupied  nearly  five  years,  the  whole  result  was  laid  before  the  pon- 
tiff, who  communicated  it  to  the  prelates  of  the  assembly.  That 
many  individuals  had  been  guilty  of  enormous  crimes,  could  not  be 

*  De  Rebus  Hispania,  lib.  xv,  c.  xr. 

\  Hist,  de  VEgl.  Gallicane,  vol.  xii,  1.  xxxvi,  ad  ann.  1312. 

J  In  Hist  Eccles.  Sac.  xiv,  Dissert,  x.  quest,  n,  art.  r,  n.  xix. 


304  MODERN    HISTORY.  Part  VL 

doubted ;  but  there  was  not  equal  evidence  to  implicate  the  whole 
order;  it  was  clear,  however,  that  it  had  greatly  degenerated  from  its 
orjginal  institution,  and  that  far  from  being  now  of  any  utility,  it  was 
rather  an  object  of  scandal  to  the  Church.  When  these  considerations 
had  been  weighed  for  several  months,  Clement  V  came  to  ihe  con- 
clusion that  the  order  of  the  Knights  Templars  could  no  loriger  bt 
tolerated  with  any  sort  of  propriety.  Accordingly,  on  the  third  oi 
April  (A.  D.  1312),  he  published,  in  presence  and  with  the  approba- 
tion of  the  council,  a  bull  suppressing  the  institute,  not  by  way  of  i 
judicial  sentence,  but  as  a  measure  of  prudence  and  expediency; 
and,  in  order  that  the  riches  and  properties  of  the  Templars  might  be 
stiil  preserved  for  the  purposes  to  which  they  had  been  originally 
destined,  they  were  transferred  to  the  Knights  Hospitallers  of  St. 
John,  who,  more  faithful  to  the  primitive  rules  of  their  noble  voca- 
tion, were  still  fighting  the  battles  of  Christendom  against  the  infidels, 
from  whose  hands  they  had  just  rescued  the  island  of  Rhodes.  From 
this  general  grant  were  rxcepted  the  estates  lying  within  the  king- 
doms of  Arragon,  Castile  and  Portugal:  these  were  reserved  for  the 
defence  of  those  :ountries  against  the  Moors,  who  still  possessed  a 
considerable  part  of  the  Spanish  peninsula.* 


PROGRESS   OF  THE   CHRISTIANS   OF  SPAIN,  AND   SIGNAL 
VICTORIES   OVER  THE  MOORS.— A.  D.  1312—1344. 


THE  Christians  of  Spain  were  gaining  ground  almost  continually 
on  their  enemies;  but  the  Moorish  nation,  by  receiving  assistance 
and  supplies  from  their  African  brethren,  seemed  to  be  a  kind  of 
hydra,  whose  heads  re-appeared  as  fast  as  they  were  cut  off,  and 
nearly  as  dangerous  as  before;  their  frequent  defeats  appeared  to 
rouse  them  to  new  exertions.  Besides  these  ordinary  efforts,  extra- 
ordinary ones  were  made  from  time  to  time,  in  order  to  avenge  and 
repair  all  their  losses  at  or.ce.  This,  they  endeavored  to  execute  par- 
ticularly in  the  year  1340,  under  the  conduct  of  Alboacen,  king  of 
Morocco,  a  prince  much  renowned  for  his  exploits  and  conquests 
among  the  African  tribes.  His  forces,  gathered  from  every  part  of 
Africa,  consisted  of  four  hundred  thousand  infantry,  and  seventy 

*  The  affair  of  the  Knights  Templars  being  very  differently  represented 
by  various  modern  authors,  we  have  been  careful  to  consult  and  follow 
pMiidos  who,  from  their  learning  and  impartiality,  could  not  lead  us  astray, 
and  above  all,  the  original  documents  themselves,  so  well  calculated  to 
r^pel  unjust  attacks,  and  correct  inaccurate  ideas  on  this  important  subject. 
See  note  J. 


4,  D.  lffl^-1344.    CHRISTIANS    OF    SPAIN,    ETC.  305 

thousand  cavalry,  with  three  hundred  and  twenty  large  vessels  or 
galleys  to  transport  them  from  one  shore  to  the  other.  Five  months 
were  employed  in  effecting  the  passage. 

At  the  approach  of  that  immense  multitude  of  Moslems,  who  wero 
joined  by  a  hundred  thousand  more  from  the  kingdom  of  Granada, 
not  only  Spain,  but  all  Christendom  trembled.  Never  had  so  numer- 
ous an  army  been  raised  by  any  Mahometan  prince,  not  even  by 
those  ancient  caliphs  whose  power  extended  over  so  many  regions 
of  Asia  and  Africa.  The  general  consternation  was  increased  by  the 
news  that  the  two  admirals  of  Arragon  and  Castile  had  been  defeated 
and  slain  by  the  Moors,  whilst  endeavoring  to  oppose  some  obstacle 
to  their  schemes  of  invasion. 

In  this  imminent  danger,  nothing  but  prodigies  of  energy,  activity 
and  courage  could  save  the  invaded  country ;  this  was  effected  by 
the  king  of  Castile,  Alfonso  XL  Not  to  leave  any  possible  means 
untried,  he  sent  deputies  to  various  courts  of  Europe,  in  order  to 
obtain  vessels,  money  and  troops.  He  could  not,  it  is  true,  obtain 
much,  owing  chiefly  to  the  obstinate  war  which  had  broken  out 
between  France  and  England;  still,  the  king  of  Portugal,  Alfonso 
IV,  marched  in  person  to  the  proposed  expedition  with  his  choicest 
troops,  who,  with  those  of  Castile,  formed  an  army  of  about  forty 
thousand  foot  and  eighteen  or  twenty  thousand  horse.  Still  the  con- 
tending forces  were  left  in  the  proportion  of  one  Spaniard  to  ten  Sara- 
cens; but  such  was  the  magnanimity,  the  noble  confidence — nay, 
the  cheerfulness  displayed  by  the  Castilian  monarch  at  the  approach 
of  the  battle,  that  the  utmost  ardor  pervaded  the  whole  Christian 
army,  and  fully  made  up  for  the  inferiority  of  numbers. 

When  the  two  kings  advanced  to  meet  their  formidable  foe,  Alboa- 
cen  was  besieging  the  city  of  Tarifa,  from  which  the  battle  has  taken 
its  name.  He  abandoned  the  siege,  and  posted  his  innumerable 
squadrons  near  a  little  river  called  Salado,  where  he  waited  the 
intended  attack.  On  the  twenty-eighth  of  October,  the  Christians, 
after  having  all  participated  in  the  sacred  mysteries,  crossed  the 
stream,  and,  in  battle  array,  marched  against  the  Moors.  History 
has  recorded  few  particulars  of  the  battle ;  but,  how  extraordinary 
must  have  been  the  courage  displayed  by  the  Portuguese  and  Casti- 
liniis,  may  be  collected  from  the  result,  which  would  really  be  in- 
credible, were  it  not  corroborated  by  the  most  exact  historians  of 
Spain,  and  had  not  a  similar  event  already  happened  in  the  famous 
battles  of  Tours  (A.  D.  732),  and  Murandal  (1212).  Here  again,  in 
the  battle  of  Tarifa,  whilst  the  Christians  hardly  suffered  any  loss 
(not  more  than  twenty  or  twenty-five  men),  from  two  hundred  thou- 
sand to  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  Moors  perished  on  the  field 
of  battle,  besides  a  vast  multitude  of  others  who  were  taken  prisoners 
26 


306  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Part  VI. 


with  the  family  of  Alboacen.  This  prince  escaped  by  a  precipitate 
flight  from  that  field  so  fatal  to  his  glory  and  power,  and  the  rext 
night  recrossed  the  strait  in  a  small  boat;  thus  strikingly  resembling 
Xerxes,  and  presenting  another  instance  of  the  same  haughty  pride 
followed  by  a  complete  overthrow,  which  has  rendered  the  Persian 
monarch  so  famous  in  history. 

The  two  victorious  kings  returned,  loaded  with  laurels,  to  their 
respective  states.  So  great  was  the  quantity  of  coins  and  other  arti- 
cles of  booty  collected  in  the  Mahometan  camp,  and  distributed  among 
the  troops,  that  gold  suddenly  lost  one-sixth  of  its  value.  Shortly 
after  this,  the  naval  forces  of  the  king  of  Morocco  were  destroyed  by 
the  combined  fleets  of  Castile,  Arragon  and  Portugal,  under  the 
eornmand  of  the  Genoese  admiral,  Boccanegra;  Alfonso  himself 
gained  a  new  victory,  in  which  forty  thousand  Moslems  were  slain, 
and  the  important  city  of  Algesiras  surrendered  to  that  prince  in 
1344.  So  many  losses  greatly  advanced  the  entire  ruin  of  the 
Moors  in  Spain ;  and  it  might  probably  have  been  effected  at  that 
time,  had  not  a  long  series  of  intricate  dissensions  arisen  between  the 
Christian  sovereigns  of  the  peninsula,  which  prolonged  the  tottering 
existence  of  their  enemies  for  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  more. 


WAR  BETWEEN  FRANCE  AND  ENGLAND. 


FROM  this  period  we  may  date  the  commencement  of  that  obstinate 
struggle  between  France  and  England,  which  lasted  nearly  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  years,  and,  having  twice  brought  the  French  mo- 
narchy to  the  brink  of  destruction,  twice  also,  by  unexpected  changes, 
finally  turned  to  her  advantage,  and  deprived  the  English  of  almost 
all  their  continental  possessions.  The  importance  as  well  as  long 
continuance  of  this  war,  even  during  its  first  period  only,  induces  us 
to  relate  it  under  separate  titles  and  sections. 


§  I.  EDWXRD  III  OF  ENGLAND  AND  PHILIP  VI  OF  FRANCE. 
(A.  D.  1328—1350). 

THE  French  king  Philip  IV  (the  Fair),  at  his  death  in  1314,  left 
three  sons,  Louis,  Philip  and  Charles,  all  of  whom,  in  the  short 
space  of  fourteen  years,  successively  ascended  the  throne,  and  died 
without  male  issue.  At  the  decease  of  Charles  IV,  the  youngest  of 
the  three  brothers,  two  competitors,  Edward  of  England,  ana  Philip 
of  Valois,  claimed  the  succession;  the  former  as  grand-son,  by  his 


*  D.  UB8-1350.    EDWARD    III    AND    PHILIP    VI.  307 

mother  Isabella,  of  Philip  IV,  and  the  latter  as  grand-son,  by  his 
father  Charles  de  Valois,  of  Philip  III,  the  immediate  predecessor  of 
Philip  IV.  It  had  indeed  been  decided,  in  1316,  at  the  death  of  Louis 
X,  who  left  a  daughter,  that  females  were,  by  the  fundamental  law 
of  the  kingdom,  excluded  from  the  French  throne;  but  Edward  con- 
tended that,  although  the  sex  of  his  mother  might  be  a  disqualification 
for  herself,  it  could  not  affect  the  succession  of  her  son ;  Philip,  on 
the  contrary,  maintained  that  a  mother  could  not  transmit  to  her  issue 
a  right  which  she  never  possessed.  This  important  case  was  brought 
before  the  peers  and  barons  of  France,  who  were  unanimous  in 
rejecting  the  pretensions  of  Edward.*  Philip  obtained  the  crown, 
and  securing  its  possession  by  a  signal  victory  over  the  Flemish, 
summoned  the  king  of  England  to  do  him  homage  for  the  Dutchy 
of  Guyenne. 

This  homage  was  a  painful  task  for  the  English  kings;  and  the 
high-minded  Edward  in  particular,  most  reluctantly  submitted  to  the 
humiliating  ceremony.  He  moreover  continued  to  see  with  a  jealous 
eye  the  French  crown  in  the  hands  of  another,  and  was  well  disposed 
to  maintain  his  pretensions  to  it  by  an  appeal  to  arms.  Accordingly, 
as  soon  as  the  accession  of  the  Flemish  to  his  cause  rendered  his 
forces  adequate  to  such  a  design,  he  openly  declared  war  against 
Philip,  towards  the  beginning  of  the  year  1338. 

Fortune  was  at  first  favorable  to  the  French  in  their  exertions 
against  Edward  ;  but  the  naval  battle  of  Sluys,  in  1340,  gave  to  the 
English  a  decided  superiority.  A  powerful  fleet  of  one  hundred  and 
twenty  large  vessels,  carrying  forty  thousand  men,  had  been  raised 
by  Philip,  to  intercept  the  British  monarch  on  his  passage  from  Eng- 
land to  Flanders.  Edward  determined  to  force  the  passage,  and  dis- 
posed his  ships,  for  the  combat  with  such  prudence  and  skill,  as  to 
elicit  the  admiration  of  the  ablest  mariners.  The  battle  was  obstinate 
and  bloody,  and  the  king  himself  received  a  wound,  which,  however, 
rather  served  to  increase  his  natural  intrepidity;  he  skilfully  took 

*  That  the  claims  of  Edward  III  to  the  French  throne  were  unfounded 
pretensions,  can  now  hardly  be  denied,  and  the  same  has  been  acknow- 
fedged  by  many  English  historians,  v.  g.  the  authors  of  Univers.  Hist.  (vol. 
cviii,  pp.  403—404) ;  J. Reeve  in  his  History  of  the  Church,  (vol.  n,  pp.  144 
—145) ;  the  authoress  of  a  well  written  History  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland, 
printed  at  Cork  in  1815,  (vol.  i,  p.  149) ;  etc.  Dr.  Lingard  contents  him- 
self with  saying,  (vol.  iv,  p.  30,  note)  that  Edward,  in  order  to  prove  his 
claim,  was  obliged  to  maintain  three  principles,  which  he  enumerates;  but, 
by  not  adding  a  word  in  his  favor,  nor  saying  that  the  monarch  proved  any 
of  the  assertions  favorable  to  his  cause,  he  naturally  leads  the  readei  to 
conclude  that  the  claim  itself  was  groundless,  and  generally  considered  as 
such;  whereas  Philip  de  Valois,  having  on  his  side  the  text  of  the  law,  the 
judgment. of  the  peers,  and  the  practice  of  preceding  times,  saw  his  right 
plainly  and  unequivocally  acknowledged. 


308  MODERN   HISTORY.  Part VI 

advantage  of  the  wind  and  tide,  and  vigorously  attacKed  the  enemy's 
line,  until  the  timely  arrival  of  the  Flemish,  his  allies,  entirely  decided 
the  victory  in  his  favor.  Nearly  all  the  French  vessels  were  cap- 
tured, and  about  twenty-eight  thousand  men  slain  or  drowned;  the 
loss  of  the  English  was  comparatively  inconsiderable. 

The  battle  of  Sluys  did  not,  however,  terminate  the  dispute  between 
the  tv;o  monarchs.  The  following  years  beheld  a  series  of  new  and 
more  or  less  insignificant  expeditions,  which  produced  no  other  effect 
than  to  diminish  the  resources  of  both  parties,  without  ending  the 
war.  At  length,  the  English  king  resolved  to  make  an  extraordinary 
effort,  and  crush  his  opponent  by  attaching  him  in  different  points 
at  once.  Whilst  an  army,  led  by  the  earl  of  Derby,  engaged  the 
attention  of  the  French  in  Guienne,  Edward  himself,  with  other 
troops,  landed  on  the  coasts  of  Normandy,  and  rapidly  advanceo 
towards  Paris,  burning  or  plundering  all  the  towns  in  his  way.  The 
approach  of  Philip  at  the  head  of  an  army  far  superior  in  numbers  to 
his  own,  induced  him  to  retrace  his  steps  towards  the  north ;  this  he 
did  successfully,  though"  with  great  difficulty  and  danger.  He  then 
posted  his  troops  upon  a  hill  near  the  village  of  Crecy  in  Ponthieu, 
and  waited  in  good  order  for  the  arrival  of  the  enemy  (A.  D.  1346). 

Shortly  after,  the  French  appeared,  and,  hurried  on  by  their  usual 
impetuosity,  immediately  commenced  the  battle,  without  allowing 
themselves  any  time  to  rest  and  to  dispose  their  .ranks  properly.  On 
the  contrary,  the  English  had  been  taught  to  regulate  valor  by  disci- 
pline; so  that,  being  well  drilled,  well  arrayed,  and  well  commanded, 
they  easily  overthrew  the  two  first  lines  of  the  assailants.  King 
Philip  repeatedly  strove,  but  in  vain,  to  rally  his  forces;  at  each 
new  charge,  he  lost  the  bravest  of  his  attendants,  and  was  finally 
compelled  to  abandon  the  field  of  battle,  which,  on  the  following  day, 
was  found  covered  with  more  than  thirty  thousand  slain,  among 
whom  were  eleven  princes  and  twelve  hundred  knights.  The  con- 
querors lost  but  one  esquire,  three  knights  and  a  few  persons  of 
inferior  rank. 

The  young  prince  of  Wales,  Edward's  eldest  son,  began  in  this 
battle  to  display  that  courage  and  ability  which  afterwards  made  him 
so  illustrious  and  successful  a  general.  It  was  also  at  Crecy  that 
artillery  was  for  the  first  time  made  use  of  by  the  Engh'sh;  they  had 
four,  some  say  six,  pieces  of  cannon,  which  greatly  contributed  to 
their  victory,  by  the  surprise  and  the  terror  they  spread  among  the 
French  troops. 

The  victorious  monarch  lost  no  time  in  improving  his  advantage. 
With  the  view  of  securing  for  the  future  an  easy  entrance  into 
France,  he  laid  siege  to  the  town  of  Calais,  which  was  defended  by 
John  of  Vienna,  an  experienced  commander,  and  supplied  with 


A.  ».  132S-1350.   EDWARD  III  AND  PHILIP  VI.  309 

every  thing  necessary  for  a  long  resistance.  The  operations  of 
.Edward  were  indeed  slow  in  the  beginning,  but  they  at  length 
obtained  full  success ;  and  Calais,  after  sustaining  a  siege  of  twelve 
months,  and  enduring  the  extremities  of  a  dreadful  famine,  was 
obliged  to  surrender.  It  was,  or  seemed  to  be  the  conqueror's  inten- 
tion to  punish  the  obstinacy  of  the  townsmen  by  putting  some  of 
them  to  death.  He  therefore  insisted  that  six  of  the  chief  citizens 
should  come,  bare-headed  and  bare-foot,  with  ropes  about  their  necks, 
to  present  him  the  keys  of  the  town  and  castle.  This  spread  con- 
sternation among  the  inhabitants;  but  the  gloom  was  dispelled  by  a 
generous  patriot,  named  Eustace  of  St.  Pierre,  who  offered  himself  as 
a  devoted  victim  to  appease  the  anger  of  the  British  monarch,  and 
whose  example  was  ^oon  followed  by  five  others.  They  approached 
the  English  camp,  and,  after  delivering  the  keys,  the  governor  pre- 
sented his  sword  to  Edward,  begging  rnercy  for  the  citizens.  The 
king  appeared  inflexible,  rejected  the  intercession  of  his  barons,  and 
even  sent  for  the  executioner,  when  Queen  Philippa,  who  had  just 
arrived  from  England,  threw  herself  on  her  knees  before  her  hus- 
band, and,  by  tears  and  supplications,  obtained  the  deliverance  of  the 
unfortunate  townsmen.  Edward  then  took  possession  of  Calais, 
which,  after  expelling  the  majority  of  the  natives,  he  repeopled  with 
a  colony  of  his  own  subjects.  It  soon  became  the  continental  marl 
for  British  merchandise,  and  remained  in  possession  of  the  English 
for  more  than  two  centuries. 

While  the  English  monarch  was  gaining  victories  upon  the  conti- 
nent, the  Scots,  taking  advantage  of  his  absence,  invaded  the  fron- 
tiers with  a  numerous  army  headed  by  David  Bruce,  their  king, 
Queen  Philippa,  who  had  not  yet  set  out  from  England,  seeing  the 
danger,  prepared  to  repel  it  by  a  sudden  and  vigorous  effort.  She 
mustered  all  the  forces  that  circumstances  had  left  at  her  disposal,  and 
sent  them  against  the  Scottish  army,  which  they  met  at  a  place  called 
Nevil's  Cross,  near  Durham.  A  sharp  contest  ensued,  which  soon 
ended  in  the  total  defeat  of  the  Scots.  Fifteen  thousand  of  them 
were  cut  to  pieces;  the  others  were  routed,  and  driven  from  the  field; 
the  king  himself  was  taken  prisoner,  and  conducted  with  many  of 
his  nobles  and  knights  to  the  tower  of  London. 

Thus  were  the  arms  of  Edward  every  where  successful ;  but  these 
advantages  had  been  purchased  by  enormous  expenses,  and  with  the 
loss,  it  is  said,  of  fifty  thousand  Englishmen.  This  consideration  in- 
duced him  to  consent  to  a  truce  with  Philip,  who,  owing  to  the  de- 
ranged state  of  his  affairs,  had  still  greater  need  of  a  respite  than  the 
English  monarch.  Through  the  mediation  of  Pope  Clement  VI, 
the  truce  was  concluded  between  the  two  kings,  at  first  for  a  few 
months,  but  afterwards  for  six  years. 


310  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Part  VI 


No  step  could  have  been  taken  more  useful  and  necessary  than  this 
to  both  nations.  Almost  immediately  after  the  conclusion  of  peace 
France  and  England  were  yisiied  by  a  pestilence  as  general  and  de- 
structive as  any  recorded  in  history.  It  had  broken  out  in  the  centre  of 
Asia,  whence  it  gradually  proceeded  towards  the  West,  arid  pervaded 
the  different  countries  of  Europe.  Of  the  victims  of  the  plague, 
many  expired  in  the  course  of  six  hours,  and  few  lingered  more  than 
two  or  three  days.  Although  it  can  scarcely  be  credited,  as  some 
have  asserted,  that  the  mortality  carried  off  one-half  or  one  third  of 
the  human  race,  we  may  however  judge  of  its  frightful  ravages,  from 
the  fact  that  all  the  cemeteries  in  London  were  soon  filled,  and  the 
number  of  the  dead  in  the  great  hospital  of  Paris  amounted  to  the 
daily  average  of  five  hundred.  This  awful  calamity  was  generally 
regarded  as  a  punishment  from  heaven,  and  had  the  happy  effect  of 
bringing  multitudes  of  sinners  to  a  sense  of  their  duty.  At  the  same 
time,  the  whole  continent,  from  Calabria  to  the  north  of  Poland,  was 
shaken  by  a  succession  of  earthquakes. 

During  these  occurrence's,  King  Philip  died  on  the  twenty-second 
of  April,  1350,  leaving  behind  him  the  reputation  of  a  brave,  but 
imprudent,  of  a  tolerably  good,  but  not  very  talented  prince.  It  was  his 
misfortune  to  have  to  contend  with  so  able  a  monarch  as  Edward  III. 
Yet,  notwithstanding  his  disasters  and  losses,  France  made  under 
his  reign  the  important  acquisition  of  the  province  of  Dauphiny, 
which  was  ceded  by  Humbert  II,  its  last  sovereign,  under  the  easy 
condition  that  the  eldest  son  of  every  French  king  should  have  the 
title  and  name  of  Dauphin;  a  condition  which  was  faithfully  ad- 
hered to  during  five  centuries. 


§  II.  EDWARD  III  AND  JOHN  IL— A.  D.  1350—1364. 

PHILIP  was  succeeded  on  the  throne  by  his  son,  John  II,  formerly 
called  duke  of  Normandy.  The  success  which  this  prince  had  ob- 
tained in  the  previous  war  of  Guienne,  his  experience,  and  the  ma- 
turity of  his  age  which  was  about  forty  years,  seemed  to  promise  a 
much  happier  reign  than  that  of  his, father:  quite  the  contrary  how- 
ever happened;  a  valor  not  guided  by  prudence,  plunged  the  new 
monarch  and  his  kingdom  into  an  abyss  of  misfortunes,  and  prepared 
new  triumphs  for  England. 

The  truce  concluded  between  Edward  and  Philip  being  now  ended, 
hostilities  recommenced.  The  prince  of  Wales,  Edward,  also  cai.ed 
the  Black  Prince  (from  the  color  of  his  arms),  opened  the  campaisn. 
He  set  out  with  his  troops  from  Bordeaux,  and  laid  waste  al!  the  sur- 


*. ».  I35a-i364       EDWARD  III  AND  JOHN  II.  31] 

rounding  country.  The  year  following  (1356),  he  did  the  same,  and 
advanced  into  the  very  heart  of  France,  destroying  the  crops,  slaugh- 
tering the  cattle,  reducing  to  ashes  the  farm-houses,  towns  and  vil- 
lages, and  subjecting  the  natives  to  all  the  horrors  of  war,*  until  the 
sudden  approach  of  King  John  with  an  army  of  sixty  thousand  men 
admonished  him  to  retire.  But  it  was  now  to  late;  he  found  himself 
overtaken  at  Maupertuis,  near  Poitiers,  and  all  he  could  do  was  to 
occupy  a  strong  position  upon  an  eminence  in  the  midst  of  vineyards. 

Could  the  remembrance  of  Crecy  have  checked  the  presumptuous 
precipitation  of  the  French,  the  English  prince  would  not  have  been 
able  to  escape  an  entire  overthrow.  His  iroops  were  six  or  seven 
times  less  numerous  than  those  of  his  opponent;  they  had  scarcely 
provisions  for  one  day  more ;  nor  could  they  attempt  to  leave  their 
camp,  without  manifest  danger  of  being  immediately  surrounded. 
Well  aware  of  the  perplexing  circumstance,  young  Edward  had  re- 
course to  negotiations.  He  offered  to  restore  his  conquests,  his 
booty  and  his  captives,  promising  moreover  not  to  bear  arms  against 
France  for  the  space  of  seven  years.  His  offers  were  rejected  ;  and 
the  French,  instead  of  letting  famine  force  the  English  to  surrender, 
rushed  upon  them  as  an  assured  prey,  with  their  usual  imprudence 
and  tumultuous  hurry. 

The  event  could  not  have  been  more  disgraceful  for  the  assailants 
and  disastrous  for  France.  The  cavalry,  having  entangled  themselves 
among  the  vineyards  and  hedges  with  which  the  spot  was  covered, 
were  easily  overthrown  by  the  English  archers :  the  second  line  be- 
gan also  to  waver,  and  soon  fled  with  precipitation,  thus  permitting 
the  Black  Prince  to  advance  at  the  head  of  his  cavalry,  and  charge 
with  immense  advantage  the  division  of  infantry  commanded  by  the 
French  king  in  person.  Here  the  combat  grew  fierce  and  obstinate. 
John,  animated  by  despair,  maintained  for  a  while  the  unequal  con- 
test, and,  by  the  terrible  strokes  of  his  battle-axe,  slew  or  wounded 
those  who  ventured  within  his  reach.  But  his  strength  soon  failed 
him.  He  was  wounded  in  the  face,  beaten  to  the  ground,  and  finally 
taken  prisoner  with  his  youngest  son  Philip,  who,  during  the  engage- 
ment, had  fought  like  the  most  hardy  warrior  to  save  his  father's  life. 

Such  was  the  ever  memorable  battle  of  Poitiers,  in  which  a  hand- 
ful of  Englishmen  defeated  the  whole  chivalry  of  France,  and,  be- 
sides covering  the  field  of  battle  with  five  or  six  thousand  slain,  took 
fifteen  thousand  prisoners.  The  moderation  of  young  Edward,  after 
so  splendid  a  victory,  increased  the  admiration  which  his  conduct  in 

*  See  in  Dr.  Lingard  (vol.  iv.  pp.  136 — 137)  another  dreadful  instance 
of  the  same  inhumanity,  and  the  just  animadversion  of  the  historian  against 
this  cruel  manner  of  waging  war,  which  has  left  a  blot  on  the  memory  of 
the  prince  of  Wales.' 


312  MODERN   HISTORY. 


Part  Vt 


battle  had  inspired.  He  soothed  the  affliction  of  his  royal  captive, 
waited  on  him  at  table,  and  in  every  particular  behaved  towards  him 
with  all  possible  courtesy  and  respect.  The  next  morning  he  con- 
tinued his  march  with  his  army  and  his  prisoners  to  Bordeaux; 
and,  having  concluded  a  truce  for  two  years  with  the  dauphin 
Charles,  regent  of  France  during  the  captivity  of  the  king,  returned 
from  Guienne  to  England.  He  was  received  in  London  with  extra- 
ordinary magnificence,  which,  though  apparently  intended  to  honor 
the  French  monarch,  was  easily  referred  by  all  to  the  conqueror  of 
Poitiers. 

To  have  taken  two  kings  prisoners  at  the  same  time,  was  certainly 
a  glorious  achievement;  but  mere  glory  did  not  satisfy  Edward  III, 
who  used  every  means  in  his  power  to  turn  his  victories  to  the  best 
advantage.  A  considerable  tribute  to  be  paid  for  a  certain  number  of 
years,  was  the  condition  on  which  the  Scottish  king  obtained  his 
liberty.  The  adjustment  of  the  rival  claims  of  England  and  France 
was  infinitely  more  difficult,  the  pretensions  of  Edward  being  so  high 
and  so  excessive,  as  to  be  unanimously  and  indignantly  rejected  by 
the  French  government.  This  refusal  however  appeared  little  in 
accordance  with  the  existing  state  of  affairs,  as  nothing  can  be  con- 
ceived more  distressing  and  deplorable  than  the  condition  to  which 
that  kingdom  was  now  reduced.  The  mourning,  humiliation  and 
losses  occasioned  by  the  defeats  at  Sluys,  Crecy  and  Poitiers;  the 
dauphin  left  without  resources;  his  authority  disregarded;  parties 
and  dissensions  springing  up  in  several  provinces;  civil  wars  raging 
between  the  nobles  and  the  peasants,  who  threw  on  each  other  the 
blame  of  the  national  calamities;  troops  of  marauders  destroying 
what  had  been  spared  by  war  and  pestilence:  every  thing  contributed 
to  spread  desolation  over  France.  In  order,  as  it  were,  to  give  the 
final  blow  to  the  tottering  monarchy,  just  at  this  juncture,  the  Eng- 
lish king  resolved  to  renew  the  war,  and,  landing  in  the  north, 
recommenced  hostilities  with  the  most  numerous  and  best  appointed 
army  that  had  been  raised  in  England  for  more  than  a  hundred 
years. 

To  meet  this  emergency,  the  dauphin  wisely  deviated  from  the 
course  hitherto  followed  by  the  French  monarchs.  Knowing,  from 
experience,  the  danger  of  general  engagements  with  soldiers  so  in- 
trepid and  hardy  as  the  English,  he  commanded  the  leaders  of  his 
troops  to  avoid  every  kind  of  battle,  and  rather  to  shut  themselves  up 
in  towns  and  fortresses,  with  their  supplies  of  provisions.  These 
measures  were  perfectly  successful.  Edward,  as  he  advanced,  found 
a  country  in  which  his  army  could  hardly  subsist.  Having  no  occa- 
sion to  fight  in  the  open  field,  he  attacked  the  cities  of  Rheims  and 
Paris;  but  he  failed  in  both  attempts,  and  was  compelled,  in  a  short 


A.  D.  1364-1380.    EDWARD    III    AND    CHARLES   V.          313 

time,  by  the  scarcity  of  provisions  and  the  severity  of  the  weather, 
to  retire  towards  Bretagne. 

The  retreat  of  the  English  was  like  that  of  vanquished  troops 
endeavoring  to  escape  the  pursuit  of  a  victorious  enemy.  In  the 
neighborhood  of  Chartres,  a  frightful  storm  burst  upon  their  camp. 
The  tents  were  carried  away  by  the  violence  of  the  wind ;  and  the 
clouds  poured  down  showers  of  rain  mixed  with  hail-stones  of  a 
prodigious  size,  which  crushed  to  death  men  and  horses.  At  the 
sight  of  the  evils  occasioned  by  his  obstinacy  and  ambition,  the  king, 
in  a  moment  of  remorse,  made  a  vow  not  to  reject  any  longer 
honorable  conditions  of  peace.  Accordingly,  the  negotiations  for  a 
treaty  were  resumed,  and  it  was  concluded  at  Bretigni  on  terms 
somewhat  less  rigorous  for  France  than  had  been  proposed  before. 
Edward  consented  to  renounce  his  pretensions  to  the  French  crown, 
and  to  restore  a  part  of  his  conquests  ;  still,  he  kept  full  possession  of 
several  provinces,  and  demanded  a  ransom  of  three  million  crowns 
of  gold  to  be  paid  for  the  French  monarch  within  the  space  of  six 
years.  These  conditions  were  ratified  by  both  parties,  and  John  was 
at  length  liberated  (A.  D.  13GO). 

He  did  not  long  enjoy  his  liberty.  Notwithstanding  his  perfect 
sincerity,  which  no  man  ever  questioned,  he  found  it  an  easier  mat- 
ter to  promise  than  to  perform,  being  unable  to  raise  the  stipulated 
sums  at  the  time  appointed  for  each  instalment.  On  this  account, 
and  in  consequence  of  other  difficulties  arising  from  the  treaty  of 
Bretigni,  John  determined  to  give  himself  up  again  to  his  conqueror, 
saying  that,  "If  honor  were  banished  from  every  other  place,  it 
should  find  an  asylum  in  the  breasts  of  kings."  He  actually  returned 
to  London,  where  he  died  after  a  few  weeks,  in  1364. 


§  III.    EDWARD  III  AND   CHARLES  V.— A.  D.  1364—1380. 


THE  death  of  John  at  first  made  no  change  in  the  existing  relations 
between  France  and  England;  and  the  dauphin,  now  King  Charles 
V,  had  sufficient  time  to  restore  perfect  tranquility  in  his  kingdom. 
The  best  measure  adopted  by  him  for  this  purpose,  was  first  to 
deliver  his  people  from  a  large  body  of  military  adventurers,  who 
after  having  followed  the  standard  of  Edward  III  during  the  war,  sub- 
sisted, in  time  of  peace,  by  plundering  the  French  territories.  Many 
fruitless  attempts  had  been  made  to  get  rid  of  those  companies  of  for- 
midable banditti;  at  length  Charles  succeeded,  through  the  means  of 
his  celebrated  general  Du  Guesclin,  in  inducing  them  to  undertake 
27 


314  MODERN   HISTORY.  Parl  Vl. 

an  expedition  into  Spain,  on  the  ground  that  their  exertions  might  be 
extremely  useful  to  that  country  and  to  themselves. 

The  kingdom  of  Castile  was  then  groaning  under  the  tyrannical 
eway  of  Don  Pedro,  son  and  successor  of  Alfonso  XL  That  prince, 
justly  surnamed  the  cruel,  on  account  of  his  vindictive  and  ferocious 
spirit,  ascended  the  throne  in  1350,  at  the  age  of  fifteen,  and  marked 
each  succeeding  year-  by  dreadful  executions,  the  effect  of  his  ambi- 
tion, caprice  or  barbarous  profligacy.  The  most  illustrious  of  his 
victims  was  his  virtuous  queen,  Blanche  de  Bourbon,  a  French 
princess,  who  is  believed  to  have  perished  by  poison.  Don  Henry, 
earl  of  Transtamare,  and  half-brother  to  Don  Pedro,  being  exposed 
to  a  similar  fate,  fled  to  Paris,  where  he  entered  into  a  confederacy 
with  the  French  court  to  punish  the  murderer  of  Blanche. 

Accordingly,  the  bands  of  adventurers  just  mentioned,  in  addition 
to  other  bodies  of  troops  under  the  conduct  of  Du  Guesclin,  entered 
Spain  in  13G6,  and  rapidly  marching  through  the  kingdom  of  Arra- 
gon,  placed  Don  Henry  on  the  throne  of  Castile  without  fighting  a 
battle.  It  was  in  vain  that  Pedro  summoned  his  military  tenants; 
they  rejoiced  at  his  distress;  and  he  had  no  other  resource  than  to 
throw  himself  on  board  a  vessel,  which  carried  him  safely  to  Ba- 
yonne,  whence  he  proceeded  to  Bordeaux,  the  capital  of  the  British 
possessions  in  France,  and  the  residence  of  the  prince  of  Wales. 
The  heart  of  this  young  prince  was  moved  by  the  astonishing,  though 
merited,  misfortune  of  Don  Pedro.  He  readily  espoused  his  cause, 
and,  in  order  to  replace  him  on  the  throne,  led  into  Castile  a  gallant 
army,  with  which  he  attacked  the  enemy  near  Navarette.  After  a 
sharp  contest,  Don  Henry  was  put  to  flight,  Du  Guesclin,  was 
taken  prisoner,  and  Pedro,  without  further  obstacle,  again  assumed 
the  sceptre. 

Unfortunately  for  the  Castilian  monarch,  adversity,  instead  of  im- 
proving, had  rather  exasperated  his  disposition.  He  soon  returned 
to  his  former  cruel  course;  and  for  the  benefits  bestowed  upon  him 
by  young  Edward,  returned  nothing  but  ingratitude,  delaying,  under 
various  pretences,  to  make  him  the  necessary  indemnification  for  the 
expenses  of  the  war.  In  the  mean  time,  the  victorious  troops  of  his 
allies  began  to  waste  away,  both  through  want  of  provisions  and  the 
heat  of  the  climate;  and  the  constitution  of  the  British  prince  him- 
self was  considerably  impaired.  Equally  indignant  and  alarmed, 
Edward  abandoned  the  ungrateful  monarch,  and  returned  with  his 
army  through  the  kingdom  of  Navarre  to  his  own  territories. 

This  circumstance  permitted  Don  Henry  and  Du  Guesclin,  who 
had  recovered  his  liberty,  to  re-enter  Spain  with  fresh  troops,  in 
1368.  They  defeated  Don  Pedro  in  several  battles,  in  one  of  which 
he  lost  fifty  thousand  Moors,  who  had  enlisted  in  his  service ;  and 


A.  D.  1384-1380.    EDWARD    III    AND    CHARLES    V.          315 

they  soon  closely  besieged  him  in  the  castle  of  Montiel.  He  endeavored 
to  make  his  escape  during  the  night,  but  was  arrested  and  brought 
to  the  tent  of  a  French  officer,  where,  either  through  accident  or 
design,  he  was  met  by  his  brother  and  rival.  "They  immediately 
grappled  with  each  other;  Pedro  threw  Henry  on  the  floor,  and 
Henry,  in  the  struggle,  despatched  his  adversary  with  a  poniard." 

Being  thus  once  more  seated  on  the  throne,  the  new  king  of  Castile 
showed  his  gratitude  to  his  benefactor  and  faithful  ally,  Charles  V,  by 
concluding  with  him  an  alliance  offensive  and  defensive,  and  pro- 
mising him  assistance  in  vessels  and  troops,  in  case  of  a  new  war 
against  Edward  III.  This  war  occurred  very  soon ;  the  subjects  of 
complaint  between  the  two  rival  nations  had  been,  since  the  death  of 
John  II,  continually  increasing,  and  his  successor  was  at  length 
induced  to  answer  the  lofty  demands  of  his  opponents  by  a  declaration 
of  war.  The  British  possessions  in  France  were  entered  by  hostile 
armies,  whose  rapid  progress  was  aided  by  the  disaffection  of  the 
natives  against  a  foreign  government.  Careful  to  avoid  a  general 
batde,  the  French  extended  their  conquests  by  capturing  towns,  and 
securing  them  with  strong  fortresses  and  garrisons.  They  had,  it  is 
true,  to  contend  against  the  powerful  reinforcements  continually  sent 
from  England  for  the  defence  of  her  transmarine  dominions;  but 
circumstances  were  now  totally  changed.  While  the  English  mo- 
narch, now  in  an  advanced  age,  was  leading  an  indolent  life,  and  the 
prince  of  Wales  lingering  under  a  disease  which  he  had  contracted 
in  Spain,  the  wisdom  of  Charles  and  the  activity  of  Du  Guesclin 
constantly  improved  their  former  success.  The  troops  of  Sir  Robert 
Knolles,  stationed  on  the  borders  of  Bretagne,  were  put  to  flight. 
A  fresh  and  numerous  army,  commanded  by  the  duke  of  Lancaster, 
was  almost  entirely  destroyed,  either  by  continual  skirmishes,  or  by 
the  fatigues  of  the  march  and  the  inconveniences  of  the  season.  In 
one  place,  the  famous  English  general  Chandos  lost  his  life;  in 
another,  the  Captal  de  Buch,  one  of  the  best  officers  in  the  service  of 
Edward,  was  taken  prisoner;  and,  in  1372,  the  British  vessels,  car- 
rying supplies  to  the  continent,  were  all  sunk  or  captured  near  La 
Rochelle,  by  a  Spanish  fleet  which  King  Henry  had,  according  to  his 
promise,  sent  to  the  assistance  of  the  French. 

By  this  series  of  disasters  and  losses,  the  English  found  themselves 
compelled  to  ask  for  a  truce,  which  was  granted,  and,  at  short  inter- 
vals, repeatedly  prolonged  for  some  years.  They  were  now  deprived 
of  nearly  all  their  ancient  possessions  in  France,  and  of  all  their  late 
conquests  except  the  town  of  Calais.  In  1376,  they  sustained  an 
irreparable  loss  by  the  death  of  Edward,  prince  of  Wales,  and  one 
year  later,  the  king,  his  father,  followed  him  to  the  grave,  it  the  age 
of  sixty-five  years,  during  fifty  of  which  he  had  occupied  the  throne. 


316  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Part  VI. 


"  In  personal  accomplishments,"  says  Dr.  Lingard,  "  Edward  III 
is  said  to  have  been  superior;  in  mental  powers,  to  have  been  equal 
to  any  of  his  predecessors.  More  than  usual  care  had  been  bestowed 
on  his  education:  and  he  could  not  only  speak  the  English  and 
French,  but  also  understand  the  German  and  Latin  languages.  His 
elocution  was  graceful;  his  conversation  entertaining;  his  behavior 
dignified,  but  also  attractive.  To  the  fashionable  amusements  of  hunt- 
ing and  hawking  he  was  much  addicted :  but  to  these  he  preferred  the 
more  warlike  exercises  of  tournament:  and  his  subjects,  at  the  con- 
clusion of  the  exhibition,  often  burst  into  transports  of  applause, 
when  they  found  that  the  unknown  knight,  whose  prowess  they  had 
admired,  proved  to  be  their  own  sovereign.  Of  his  courage  as  a 
combatant,  and  his  abilities  as  a  general,  the  reader  will  have  formed 
a  competent  opinion  from  the  preceding  pages.  The  astonishing 
victories,  which  cast  so  much  glory  on  one  period  of  his  reign, 
appear  to  have  dazzled  the  eyes  both  of  his  subjects  and  of  foreigners, 
who  placed  him  in  the  first  rank  of  conquerors :  but  the  disasters 
which  clouded  the  evening  of  his  life,  have  furnished  a  proof  that  his 
ambition  was  greater  than  his  judgment.  He  was  at  last  convinced 
that  the  crowns  of  France  and  Scotland  were  beyond  his  reach;  but 
not  till  he  had  exhausted  the  strength  of  the  nation  by  a  series  of 
gigantic  but  fruitless  efforts.  Before  his  death,  all  his  conquests, 
with  the  exception  of  Calais,  had  slipped  from  his  grasp :  the  greater 
part  of  his  hereditary  dominions  on  the  continent,  had  been  torn  from 
him  by  a  rival,  whom  he  formerly  despised :  and  a  succession  of  short 
and  precarious  truces  was  sought  and  accepted  as  a  boon  by  the 
monarch,  who  in  his  more  fortunate  days,  had  dictated  the  peace  of 
Bretigni."* 

Three  years  after  the  death  of  Edward,  Charles  V,  king  of  France, 
also  died,  leaving  his  kingdom  as  prosperous  and  happy,  as  he  had 
found  it  destressed  and  miserable.  In  the  space  of  sixteen  years,  he 
had,  by  his  consummate  prudence,  checked  the  calamities  and 
repaired  the  evils  of  the  two  preceding  reigns.  Instead  of  rashly 
exposing  his  own  person  in  battle,  as  his  father  and  grand-father  had 
done,  he  confided  the  command  of  his  armies  to  generals  equally 
brave  and  cautious,  and  through  them  waged  war  with  uninterrupted 
success,  he  himself  directing  from  his  cabinet  the  chief  operations  of 
their  campaigns.  Nor  was  his  prudence  less  admirable  in  his  civil, 
than  in  his  military  administration.  Good  order  was  re-established 
in  the  different  branches  of  government;  peace  was  restored  to  the 
capital  and  the  provinces ;  offices  of  trust  were  filled  by  men  of  well 
known  merit  and  integrity;  the  king  himself  gave  to  all  the  example 

*  Laniard's  History  of  England.,  iv,pp.  147—149. 


A.  D.  1 300— 1396. 


OTTOMAN   EMPIRE.  317 


of  sincere  piety,  purity  of  morals,  charity  to  the  poor,  and  fidelity  to 
the  laws  of  God  and  of  the  Church.  At  his  accession  to  the  throne, 
having  found  the  coffers  of  the  exchequer  empty,  he  replenished 
them,  not  by  the  augmentation  of  the  taxes,  which  he  on  the  con- 
trary diminished,  hut  by  a  wise  administration  of  the  public  revenues. 
It  was  thus  that  Charles  was  enabled  to  deliver  France  from  powerful 
invaders;  to  assist  his  allies;  to  make  his  people  happy;  to  protect 
the  arts,  sciences  and  commerce;  to  lay  the  foundation  of  the  famous 
royal  library  in  Paris  ;  in  a  word,  constantly  to  exemplify  the  truth 
of  his  own  maxim :  **  That  kings  are  happy,  only  because  they  have 
the  power  of  doing  good."  His  subjects  bestowed  on  him  the  flat- 
tering epithet  of  "  The  Wise,"  and  posterity  has  always  pronounced 
him  one  of  the  greatest  kings  that  ever  sat  on  the  throne  of  France. 
He  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Charles  VI.  Richard  II,  son  of  the 
Black  Prince,  began  to  reign  about  the  same  time,  in  the  place  of  his 
grand-father  Edward  III. 


RISE  OF  THE  OTTOMAN  EMPIRE,  AND  ITS  PROGRESS, 
TILL  THE  BATTLE  OF  NICOPOLIS.— A.  D.  1300—1396. 


WE  must  now  turn  our  attention  to  the  east  of  Europe,  where  a 
new  and  formidable  enemy  began  to  make  his  appearance.  The 
fourteenth  century  beheld  the  rise  and  progress  of  the  savage  and 
warlike  nation  of  the  Ottomans,  who  were  destined  to  sweep  from 
the  face  of  the  earth  the  last  vestiges  of  Roman  power.  Fresh 
hordes  of  Turks,  eager  to  walk  in  the  footsteps  of  their  ancestors, 
were  continually  pouring  from  Tartary  over  the  fairest  provinces  of 
Asia — restless  and  uncivilized  tribes,  who  hardly  knew  how  to  pro- 
cure the  necessaries  of  life  otherwise  than  by  war  and  pillage.  After 
the  fall  of  the  Seljukian  Turks  of  Iconium,  these  barbarians  occupied 
their  possessions  in  Asia  Minor,  under  the  conduct  of  seven  indepen- 
dent chieftains  commonly  called  emirs. 

The  most  skilful  and  powerful  of  these  chieftains  was  Othman, 
from  whom  the  Turks  have  derived  the  name  of  Ottomans.  His 
valor  and  activity  soon  enabled  him  to  prevail  over  the  petty  princes 
by  whom  he  was  surrounded;  he  rendered  himself  master  of  a  great 
part  of  Bithynia ;  and  continued  his  victorious  career  for  the  space  of 
twenty -seven  years  (A.  D.  1300 — 1326).  His  plan  of  aggrandize- 
ment was  successfully  followed  by  Orcan,  his  son  and  successor. 
Whilst  the  degenerate  Greeks  were  continually  weakening  themselves 
by  civil  dissensions  and  wars,  the  well  combined  forces  of  the  Turks 
daily  increased  the  extent  and  strength  of  their  empire.  They  cap- 


318  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Part  VI, 


tured,  in  a  short  time,  the  cities  of  Prusium,  Nicomedia  and  Nice, 
and,  crossing  the  strait  of  Constantinople,  began  to  carry  their  victo 
rious  arras  into  Europe.  Many  important  places  of  Thrace,  and 
even  the  city  of  Adrianople,  had  already  fallen  into  their  power, 
when  Orcan  died,  in  1360. 

Amurat,  who  was  the  third  sultan  (sovereign)  of  the  Turks,  con- 
solidated the  throne  his  two  predecessors  had  reared,  by  organiz- 
ing the  intrepid  band  of  the  Janizaries,  whose  number  amounted,  in 
different  times,  from  ten  to  forty  thousand ;  a  body  resembling,  in  al- 
most every  respect,  that  of  the  Praetorians  at  Rome  under  the  empe- 
rors, and  of  the  Mamelukes  in  Egypt  since  the  time  of  Saladin.  A 
regular  and  gallant  troop  of  cavalry,  called  Spahis,  had  already  been 
established  by  Orcan ;  it  was  subsequently  improved  by  Amurat 
This  monarch,  having  chosen  Adrianople  for  the  seat  of  his  resi- 
dence, kept,  from  that  city,  a  watchful  eye  on  the  conduct  of  the 
neighboring  states,  in  order  to  turn  all  their  proceedings  to  his  own 
advantage;  for,  although  he  was,  we  are  told,  a  great  admirer  of 
virtue  and  lover  of  justice,  yet  he  lost  no  opportunity  to  gratify  his 
ambition.  Hence  his  reign,  which  lasted  twenty-nine  years  (A.  D. 
1360 — 1389),  was  little  else  than  a  continual  warfare,  and  was  ren- 
dered famous  by  thirty-seven  victories,  the  last  of  which,  however, 
proved  more  fatal  to  himself  than  to  his  numerous  enemies,  the  Hun 
garians,  Servians,  and  other  nations  of  eastern  Europe,  who  had 
united  their  forces  to  oppose  his  progress.  After  the  battle,  as  he  was 
visiting  the  plain  covered  with  the  dead  and  dying,  a  Servian  soldier, 
that  lay  among  the  rest,  suddenly  arose,  and  with  a  dagger  stabbed 
the  sultan,  who  expired  in  two  hours,  in  the  midst  of  his  officers. 

The  next  sultan,  Bajazet  I,  is  well  known  in  history  under  the 
surname  of  Ilderim  (lightning);  an  epithet  which  he  fully  deserved 
by  the  rapidity  of  his  conquests,  and  the  uncommon  quickness  with 
which  he  continually  passed  from  Europe  to  Asia,  and  from  Asia  to 
Europe.  He  assembled  and  marshalled  his  forces,  separated  and 
re-united  them  with  incredible  activity ;  he  would  disappear  for  a 
time,  and  suddenly  appear  again  when  he  was  thought  to  be  at  a 
distance.  Still  Bajazet  sometimes  met  with  enemies  no  less  brave 
and  skilful  than  himself;  and  his  life  presented  a  constant  alternation 
of  brilliant  victories  and  overwhelming  defeats. 

His  efforts  were  at  first  directed  against  several  petty  sovereigns 
of  Armenia  and  Asia  Minor,  who  were  all  easily  subdued.  He  then 
turned  his  attention  to  a  more  powerful  and  warlike  opponent,  Ste- 
phen, prince  of  Moldavia,  who  had,  two  years  before,  defeated  in  a 
great  battle  the  generals  of  Amurat,  the  father  of  Bajazet.  Anxious 
to  restore  the  honor  of  the  Turkish  name,  Bajazet  marched  rapidly 
through  the  province  of  Thrace,  crossed  the  Danube  and  entered  the 


A.  D.  130C-1396. 


OTTOMAN  EMPIRE.  319 


territory  of  his  enemy,  a  warrior  as  eager  as  himself  for  the  meeting. 
After  a  fierce  conflict,  the  Moldavians  were  routed;  and  their  leader, 
who  was  the  last  to  quit  the  field  of  battle,  fled  towards  Nols,  a  for- 
tified town,  where  he  had  left  his  mother  and  children.  He  found 
the  gates  closed  against  him  by  his  mother's  command.  From  the 
top  of  the  ramparts,  this  courageous  woman  upbraided  him  for  his 
flight,  and  bade  him  return,  renew  the  fight,  and,  if  he  could  not 
conquer,  rather  die  than  survive  his  defeat.  This  revived  at  once 
the  courage  and  hopes  of  Stephen;  he  immediately  returned,  rallied 
about  twelve  thousand  men,  and  rushed  upon  the  Turks  who  were 
then  engaged  in  pillaging,  with  such  impetuosity  and  vigor,  that 
nearly  all  were  cut  in  pieces ;  the  imperial  tent,  with  a  considerable 
booty,  fell  into  the  power  of  the  Moldavians;  and  the  proud  sultan 
precipitately  retired  to  the  extremities  of  his  dominions. 

He  soon  reappeared,  more  fierce  and  formidable  than  ever.  Thrace, 
Greece  and  other  provinces  were  overrun  and  laid  waste  by  his 
armies ;  and  if,  for  reasons  of  policy  and  prudence,  he  did  not  yet 
attack  Constantinople,  he  at  least  made  the  suburbs  of  that  city  the 
limits  of  the  Greek  empire.  The  reigning  imperial  family  was 
treated  by  him  with  the  utmost  contempt.  New  fortifications  having 
been  added  to  the  capital  by  the  emperor  John  Paleologus,  Bajazet 
was  displeased,  and  sent  an  order  for  their  demolition,  which  order 
Paleologus  obeyed.  The  next  emperor  Manuel,  received  from  the 
haughty  sultan  a  command  to  remain  in  Constantinople :  he  complied 
with  the  injunction,  leaving  the  city  but  once,  in  order  to  appear  at 
the  court  of  Bajazet,  which  he  did  at  the  risk  of  his  life;  for  his 
preservation  he  was  indebted  to  the  generous  commiseration  of  a 
Turkish  officer.  He  then  wrote  pressing  letters  to  the  Christian 
sovereigns  of  Europe,  for  the  purpose  of  imploring  their  assistance 
against  the  incessant  encroachments  of  the  Turks ;  and  his  example 
was  imitated  by  Sigismond,  king  of  Hungary,  who  was  not  less 
anxious  to  remove  the  impending  storm  from  his  frontiers. 

These  letters  and  solicitations  had  little  effect,  except  in  France, 
which  furnished  a  large  number  of  soldiers  and  knights  under  the 
command  of  the  earl  of  Nevers,  a  prince  of  the  royal  family.  They 
marched  through  Bavaria,  and  joined,  near  the  Danube,  the  Hun- 
garians commanded  by  Sigismond,  whose  forces  then  amounted  to 
upwards  of  a  hundred  thousand  men.  When  he  reviewed  them, 
he  is  said  to  have  exclaimed,  in  a  transport  of  confidence  and  joy, 
that  "if  the  firmament  itself  should  fall,  they  might  support  it  with 
their  iances."  His  hopes,  however,  were  grounded  more  on  appear- 
ances than  on  reality ;  for,  if  bravery  was  the  distinguishing  charac 
ter  of  his  followers,  discord,  jealousy,  presumption  and  licentiousness 
also  reigned  among  them ;  and  Bajazet  showed  greater  foresight  than 


320  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Part  VI, 


Sigismond,  when  on  being  informed  of  these  disorders,  he  said  that 
his  enemies  would  surely  provoke  against  themselves  the  justice  of 
their  God. 

After  some  partial  engagements,  in  which  the  Christians  constantly 
prevailed  over  the  Turks,  they  commenced  a  general  battle  near  the 
city  of  Nicopolis  in  Bulgaria  (A.  D.  1396).  When  the  two  armies 
approached,  Sigismond  entreated  the  French  to  unite  prudence  with 
valor  against  an  enemy  with  whose  mode  of  warfare  they  were  not 
sufficiently  acquainted.  The  advice  was  good,  but  given  to  no  pur- 
pose, the  earl  of  Nevers  and  other  young  lords  imagining  that  it  was 
the  intention  of  Sigismond  to  deprive  them  of  the  honor  of  beginning 
the  battle.  They  therefore,  without  waiting  for  the  Hungarians, 
rushed  on  against  the  first  squadrons  of  the  Turks  with  equal  disorder 
and  intrepidity.  The  enemy  pretended  to  be  terrified,  and  fled;  the 
French  pursued  them,  with  full  confidence  of  an  easy  victory,  when, 
on  a  sudden,  they  found  themselves  not  only  surrounded  by  numerous 
bands  of  Spahis  and  Janizaries,  whom  Bajazet  had  placed  in  am- 
buscade, but  also  entangled  amidst  an  incredible  quantity  of  stakes 
which  had  been  purposely  planted  in  order  to  embarrass  their  march,  so 
that  the  Christian  cavalry  could  neither  advance  nor  retire.  Resolved 
at  least  to  sell  their  lives  as  dearly  as  possible,  they  continued  fighting 
with  undaunted  valor,  and  for  several  hours  spread  terror  and  death 
among  the  thickest  battalions  of  the  Turks.  At  length,  sinking  un- 
der the  weight  of  fatigue,  and  overpowered  by  the  multitudes  of 
their  opponents,  they  fell,  almost  all,  under  the  Ottoman  sword;  the 
remaining  few  were  taken  prisoners. 

Bajazet  immediately  led  all  his  forces  against  the  main  body  of  the 
confederates,  put  them  to  flight,  and  entered  their  camp,  where  hi? 
soldiers  found  invaluable  riches.  Sigismond  seeing  every  thing  lost, 
threw  himself  into  a  boat,  and  following  the  course  of  the  Danube, 
and  then  the  coasts  of  the  Euxine  sea,  succeeded,  after  many  adven- 
tures, in  reaching  the  imperial  city  of  Constantinople,  where  his  ar- 
rival as  a  fugitive  announced  his  defeat  and  spread  consternation. 
All  trembled  at  the  approach  of  the  victorious  sultan;  the  Greek 
capital  was  more  than  ever  threatened  with  an  attack,  and  would  pro- 
bably have  become  an  easy  prey  to  the  Turks,  had  not  its  downfall 
been  delayed  by  the  sudden  appearance  of  another  conqueror  far 
superior  to  Bajazet  himself. 


A.  D.  IS96-1405.  TAMERLANE;  ETC.  321 

TAMERLANE  AND  THE  MOGULS.— A.  D.  1396—1405. 

BATTLE   OF  ANCYRA. — 1402. 

TIMUR,  better  known  by  the  name  of  Tamerlane,  had  been  raised, 
amidst  the  confusion  of  civil  wars,  from  the  station  of  a  petty  sove- 
reign to  the  throne  of  the  Moguls  and  Tartars,  in  the  year  1369. 
He  soon  re-established,  by  his  indefatigable  activity  and  courage,  the 
vast  empire  of  Genghis-Kan  in  Asia.  History  can  scarcely  follow 
him  through  his  gigantic  expeditions;  and  the  imagination  itself  is 
astounded  at  the  rapidity  with  which  he  carried  his  destructive  sword 
from  the  centre  of  Tartary  to  the  borders  of  Egypt,  and  from  the  river 
Indus  to  the  frozen  deserts  of  Siberia.  Such  was  the  man  whom 
Providence  destined  to  crush  the  pride,  and  overthrow  the  power  of 
Bajazet. 

Historians  are  not  unanimous  in  explaining  the  motives  which 
induced  these  two  mighty  princes  to  turn  their  arms  against  each 
other.  It  is  generally  supposed  that  the  complaints  of  the  Greek 
emperor  and  of  the  Mussulman  princes  of  Asia,  against  the  encroach- 
ments of  Bajazet,  were  the  chief  motive  of  Tamerlane's  conduct  on 
this  occasion ;  but  it  might  also  be  sufficiently  accounted  for  by  the 
character  of  the  two  rivals.  In  the  opinion  of  the  Tartar  monarch, 
it  was  neither  proper  nor  possible  that  the  world  could  be  governed 
by  two  sovereigns  of  equal  power;  nor  was  the  Turkish  sultan  infe- 
rior to  him  in  point  of  ambition.  This  clearly  appears  from  the 
scornful  and  arrogant  invectives  in  which  they  indulged  against  each 
other,  before  hostilities  commenced,  and  which  became  the  signal  of 
the  most  bloody  catastrophe. 

Tamerlane  set  out  from  the  East  at  the  head  of  his  intrepid  Tar- 
tars ;  and,  as  if  he  had  resolved  to  give  Bajazet  an  idea  of  the  ravages 
that  every  where  accompanied  his  armies,  he  made  their  march 
across  Armenia  and  Syria  one  continued  military  expedition.  These 
unfortunate  countries,  so  often  before  the  theatre  of  disastrous  war- 
fare, were  again  laid  waste,  their  riches  seized,  their  cities  destroyed, 
their  inhabitants  slaughtered;  streams  of  blood,  and  towers  built  with 
human  bodies  and  skulls,  every  where  marked  the  passage  of  the 
Mogul  conqueror. 

At  length,  the  Tartars  directed  their  course  towards  the  Turkish 
dominions.  Tamerlane  marched  through  Anatolia  with  eight  hun- 
dred thousand  men,  whilst  Bajazet,  on  his  side,  fea-lessly  advanced 
to  meet  him,  at  the  head  of  four  hundred  thousand  brave  soldiers. 
These  formidable  armies  came  in  sight  near  Ancyra  (July  1402,), 


I 


322  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Part  VI. 


and  there,  through  the  whole  extent  of  a  vast  plain,  engaged  in  a 
conflict  more  furious  and  frightful  than  even  imagination  can  picture. 
It  lasted  three  days,  and  cost  the  lives,  according  to  the  lowest  calcu- 
lation, of  one  hundred  and  eighty  thousand,  according  to  others,  of 
three  hundred  and  forty,  or  even  four  hundred  thousand  of  the  com- 
batantf.  Victory  at  last  decided  in  favor  of  the  Tartars.  The  re- 
maining Turks  were  dispersed;  and  the  sultan,  after  he  had  fought 
till  the  last  moment  with  desperate  valor,  was  surrounded  by  a  host 
of  enemies  eager  to  secure  so  important  a  prize,  and,  in  spite  of  all 
his  efforts,  became  their  prisoner. 

Not  only  different,  but  even  contradictory,  are  the  accounts  given 
of  the  manner  in  which  JBajazet  was  treated  by  Tamerlane.  The 
more  probable,  as  being  founded  on  the  testimony  of  most  of  the  his- 
torians who  wrote  near  that  time,  is  that  the  Mogul  prince  received 
his  captive  into  his  own  tent  with  great  kindness  and  regard,  and, 
making  him  sit  by  his  side  on  the  same  carpet,  spoke  to  him  in  the 
most  consoling  terms;  but  that  Bajazet,  far  from  being  grateful  for 
this  noble  and  generous  reception,  evinced  no  other  feeling  than  that 
of  ferocious  haughtiness  and  impotent  rage,  which  deeply  offended  his 
conqueror.  To  the  question  put  by  Tamerlane,  "  what  he  would  have 
done,  if  fortune  had  been  favorable  to  him?"  he  answered,  "  I  would 
have  confined  you  in  an  iron  cage." — "  Let  such,  then,  be  your  own 
mansion,"  replied  Tamerlane.  The  sentence  was  enforced,  and 
Bajazet,  unable  to  bear  the  excess  of  his  misfortune,  died  one  or  two 
years  after,  some  say,  of  grief  and  despair,  others,  of  apoplexy.  His 
sons  were  permitted  to  divide,  or  rather  to  dispute  among  themselves 
the  wrecks  of  hi^  empire,  and  the  Mogul  conqueror  returned  to  his 
own  dominions. 

It  may  not  be  amiss  to  describe  here  more  fully  the  character  of 
this  extraordinary  prince.  By  the  oriental  nations,  Tamerlane  is 
assimilated  to  Alexander-the-Great;  and  the  renowned  biographer 
Feller,  in  his  Historical  Dictionary  (article  Tamerlane),  seems  to 
approve  of  that  idea,  which  he  even  endeavors  to  confirm  by  some 
examples.  The  comparison  may  be  true  with  respect  to  exploits 
and  military  abilities;  but,  in  many  other  particulars,  it  is  certainly 
false.  Alexander  was  ambitious,  without  being  naturally  cruel; 
whilst,  on  the  contrary,  nothing  can  be  conceived  more  barbarous 
than  tae  manner  in  which  Tamerlane  conducted  his  wars,  and 
treated  those  who  presumed  to  resist.  By  his  orders,  seventy  thou- 
sand persons  were  inhumanly  slaughtered  in  the  capture  of  Ispahan ; 
one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  in  that  of  Sebaste ;  ninety  thou- 
sand in  that  of  Bagdad,  which  city  Was  utterly  destroyed;  and  so, 
proportionally,  in  other  places.  In  the  conquest  of  India,  the  natives 
were  hunted  like  wild  beasts,  and  it  is  no  exaggeration  to  say  that 


A.  D.  1396-1405.  TAMERLANE,    ETC.  323 

millions  of  them  were  put  to  the  sword,  the  multitude  of  prisoners 
being  moreover  so  great,  that  each  of  the  Tartar  soldiers  had  many 
in  his  power.  On  one  occasion,  Tamerlane  caused  a  hundred  thou- 
sand of  those  unhappy  captives  to  be  slain  in  the  space  of  an  hour; 
on  another,  he  commanded  multitudes  of  unfortunate  people  to  be 
crushed  under  the  feet  of  horses,  or  to  be  buried  alive;  and,  besides, 
he  invariably  kept  up  the  horrid  custom,  which  we  have  already  men- 
tioned, of  building  towers  with  human  skulls,  as  monuments  of  his 
victories.*  Never  assuredly  were  there  deeds  of  cruelty  so  awful  and 
so  multiplied,  perpetrated  either  by  Alexander-the-Great,  or  any 
other  conqueror  except  Tamerlane. 

It  is  truly  astonishing  that  the  man  who  could  commit  such  atroci- 
ties in  war,  displayed,  in  the  other  transactions  of  his  life,  justice, 
generosity  and  sensibility.  Equitable  in  his  judgments,  and  zealous 
in  the  correction  of  abuses,  he  was  kind  towards  his  relations,  atten- 
tive to  the  welfare  of  his  troops  and  careful  to  reward  their  services, 
humane  towards  all  his  subjects  and  desirous  of  their  happiness, 
particularly  towards  the  close  of  his  career.  "  I  do  not  wish,"  he 
once  said  to  his  counsellors,  "  that  the  distressed  and  the  poor  should 
cry  out  for  vengeance  against  me  on  the  day  of  judgment.  I  do  not 
wish  that  any  one  of  my  brave  soldiers,  who  have  so  many  times 
exposed  their  lives  in  my  service,  should  have  to  complain  of  me 
and  of  my  ingratitude.  I  am  more  sensible  of  their  wants  than  they 
are  themselves.  None  of  my  subjects  ought  to  hesitate  to  lay  his 
grievances  before  me;  for,  my  intention  is  that  the  world  should,  under 
my  reign,  become  a  sort  of  Paradise ;  and  I  know  that,  when  a  king 
is  just  and  beneficent,  his  kingdom  is  blessed  with  prosperity  and 
glory." 

Such  was  the  language  in  which  Tamerlane  expressed  the  noble 
feelings  of  his  soul  in  relation  to  the  government  of  his  people.  In 
point  of  intellectual  faculties,  to  a  sound  mind,  that  distinguished 
him  in  council  as  much  as  his  extraordinary  valor  distinguished  him 
in  battles,  he  is  said  to  have  added  a  wonderful  sagacity,  which 
enabled  him  to  unravel  the  most  hidden  intrigues  and  detect  the  most 
artful  stratagems  of  his  enemies,  whilst  his  own  secrets  remained 
impenetrable.  His  principle  in  governing  was  to  secure  by  unshaken 
firmness  the  execution  of  his  orders,  and  to  attend  in  person  to  all 
transactions  of  consequence.  The  palaces,  mosques,  cities,  bridges, 
canals,  magnificent  roads,  colleges,  hospitals  for  the  infirm,  for  tra- 

*  These,  and  other  particulars  respecting  Tamerlane,  may  be  seen  in 
Umvers.  Hist.  vol.  xivin,pp.  220 — 468; — Anquetil,  Precis  d'e  VHist.  Uni- 
vers.  vol.  iv,  pp.  446 — 466; — Michaut,  Hist,  des  Croisades,  vol.  v,  pp.  289-  • 
292  ; — and  Ameilhon  (the  continuator  of  Lebeau),  Hist,  du  Bas-Empiret 
vol.  xx vr,  pp.  362—367- 


I 


324  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Pan  VI. 


vellers  and  for  the  poor,  and  many  other  public  buildings  and  institu 
tions,  which  owed  to  him  their  existence,  would  suffice  to  illustrate 
the  reigns  and  the  lives  of  several  monarchs. 

Tamerlane  preserved,  till  the  end  of  his  days,  a  robust  constitution, 
great  bodily  strength,  and  astonishing  fortitude.  He  disliked  flattery, 
and,  instead  of  being  offended  by  correction  and  advice,  required  that 
the  truth,  plain  and  entire,  should  be  spoken  to  him;  the  motto  on 
his  seal  was,  "  I  am  candid  and  sincere."  A  friend  to  learning,  he 
frequently  read  history,  and  liked  to  converse  with  skilful  men.  In 
fine,  a  very  extraordinary  feature  in  this  mighty  sovereign  and  con- 
queror, was  the  singular  modesty  which  he  evinced  in  the  midst  of 
his  triumphs,  not  ascribing  them  to  his  own  exertions  and  talents, 
but  to  the  omnipotence  of  God,  who  made  use  of  him  to  chastise 
nations  and  to  recall  them  to  the  path  of  justice.  He  believed,  as  a 
zealous  Mussulman,  that  he  was  called  to  redress  grievances,  and  to 
exterminate  the  abettors  of  all  religions  contrary  to  his  own ;  and  we 
have  seen  in  what  an  awful  manner  he  complied  with  this  imaginary 
mission. 

After  the  successful  -termination  of  his  campaign  against  the  Turks, 
his  advanced  age  and  protracted  labors  seemed  to  call  for  repose; 
yet,  even  at  that  time,  he  meditated  new  conquests.  In  a  fresh 
transport  of  Mahometan  zeal,  he  determined  to  attack  the  Chinese, 
and  for  this  purpose  he  set  out  with  two  hundred  thousand  men,  in 
the  dead  of  winter,  from  Samarcand,  his  capital  city;  but,  being 
seized  with  a  violent  fever,  he  expired  before  he  had  reached  the  con- 
fines of  China,  in  the  seventy-first  year  of  his  age,  and  thirty-sixth 
of  his  reign  (A.  D.  1405).  His  death  was  soon  followed  by  the  divi- 
sion of  his  vast  empire  into  many  principalities  and  kingdoms,  the 
most  remarkable  of  which  was  that  of  the  Moguls  in  the  East  Indies, 
now  under  the  sway  of  the  British  government. 


RENEWAL  OF  WAR  BETWEEN  ENGLAND  AND 
FRANCE. 


THE  condition  of  England  and  France  was  much  alike  during  the 
latter  portion  of  the  fourteenth,  but  became  quite  different  in  the 
beginning  of  the  fifteenth  century.  The  two  young  kings,  Richard 
II  and  Charles  VI,  showed  good  intentions,  and  even,  on  many 
occasions,  displayed  great  spirit  and  courage;  but  the  ambition  ol 
three  uncles  (in  England,  the  dukes  of  Lancaster,  Gloucester  and 
York — and  in  France,  the  dukes  of  Berry,  Anjou  and  Burgundy), 


A.  D.  1413-1422.    HENRY  V  AND  CHARLES  VI.  325 

was  for  both  of  them  a  constant  source  of  misfortunes,  and  occasioned 
many  disturbances  in  the  two  kingdoms. 

England  however  suffered  less,  and  not  only  was  the  first  to  reco- 
ver from  her  losses,  but  even  quickly  reassumed  her  former  ascen- 
dency and  menacing  attitude,  in  consequence  of  the  great  internal 
strength  which  she  acquired  under  the  prosperous  reign  of  Henry 
IV,  first  king  of  the  house  of  Lancaster,  who  had,  in  1399,  dethroned 
and  succeeded  his  cousin  Richard  II.  France,  on  the  contrary,  saw 
her  misfortunes  increase;  especially  after  Charles  VI  began  to  expe- 
rience frequent  fits  of  insanity.  Eacli  one  of  the  princes  of  his  family 
wished  to  hold  the  reins  of  government;  their  disputes  gave  rise  to 
a  long  train  of  dissensions  and  animosities  which  terminated  in  the 
murder  of  several  of  their  number,  and  daily  added  to  the  misery  of 
the  whole  nation ;  nor  did  England  fail  to  turn  these  disturbances  of 
France  to  her  own  advantage. 


§  I.  HENRY  V  AND  CHARLES  VI.  (A.  D.  1413—1422). 

HENRY  V,  son  and  successor  of  Henry  IV,  is  represented  by 
historians  as  a  prince  sagacious  in  council,  skilled  in  military  tactics, 
and  one  of  the  bravest  knights  of  his  age.  He  had,  more  seriously 
than  any  of  his  predecessors,  conceived  and  matured  the  design  of 
subduing  the  French  monarchy,  which,  after  the  example  of  Edward 
III,  he  affected  to  claim  as  his  inheritance.  Having  raised  a  gallant 
army,  he  landed  at  Harfleur,  on  the  14th  of  August  1415,  before  the 
French  were  ready  to  oppose  his  invasion.  The  town  was  invested; 
and  after  a  courageous  resistance  of  five  weeks,  its  garrison  was  obliged 
to  surrender.  The  siege  however  had  cost  Henry  many  officers  and 
men,  and  a  dysentery  soon  reduced  his  forces  to  nearly  half  their 
number;  in  this  situation,  unable  to  adopt  offensive  measures,  he 
determined  to  retire  to  Calais,  whence  he  might  safely  re-embark  for 
England. 

But  to  carry  out  this  resolution  was  a  very  difficult  task:  there 
were  no  bridges  over  the  rivers;  and  an  army  of  one  hundred  thou- 
sand French  soldiers,  five  times  more  numerous  than  that  of  their 
opponents,  had  been  stationed  between  the  English  and  Calais.  At 
Agincourt,  on  the  24th  of  October,  Henry  saw  himself  in  the  very 
same  condition  in  which  Edward  III  and  the  prince  of  Wales  had 
been,  the  former  seventy,  the  latter  sixty  years  before;  and,  like  them, 
he  gave  the  world  a  new  proof  how  much  a  skilful  commander  and 
a  few  well  disciplined  troops  can  effect  against  a  multitude  of  undis- 
ciplined warriors.  In  his  camp  and  army,  perfect  order  was  observed, 
28 


326  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Part  VI. 


and  ready  obedience  paid  to  the  commands  of  their  gallant  leader;  on 
the  side  of  his  enemies,  notwithstanding  some  wise  dispositions  of 
the  commander-in-chief,  the  constable  d'Albret,  all  was  confusion, 
insubordination  and  temerity.  The  night  previous  to  the  battle  was 
spent  by  the  English  in  religious  exercises ;  by  the  French,  who  did 
not  suspect  the  possibility  of  a  defeat,  in  tumultuous  merriment.  The 
result,  as  might  naturally  be  expected,  was  the  complete  triumph  ot 
the  former,  and  the  entire  overthrow  of  the  latter,  twenty-four  thou- 
sand of  whom,  including  the  chief  leaders  and-  twelve  princes,  paid 
•with  death  or  captivity,  the  forfeit  of  their  rash  and  presumptuous 
courage.  The  conquerors  referred  with  gratitude  to  Almighty  God 
the  honor  of  so  signal  and  astonishing  a  victory ;  the  113th  psalm  was 
sung  in  thanksgiving  after  the  battle;  and  it  was  an  edifying  spectacle 
to  behold  the  king  and  the  whole  army  prostrate  themselves  at  these 
words  of  the  Royal  Prophet,  "  Not  to  us ,  0  Lord,  not  to  us;  but  to 
thy  name  gi'ue  gloi-y." 

The  defeat  of  Agincourt  was  still  more  fatal  to  France  than  the 
disastrous  battles  of  Crecy  and  Poitiers.  The  road  was  now  opened 
into  the  heart  of  that  kingdom;  and  Henry  V  was  both  too  ambitious 
and  too  skilful,  not  to  follow  up  his  advantage  with  incessant  ardor. 
This  was  his  chief  and  almost  exclusive  object  during  the  subsequent 
years,  and  success  crowned  his  new  efforts  even  beyond  expectation. 
Within  a  short  time,  Normandy  and  the  neighboring  provinces  were 
subdued;  town  after  town  surrendered;  Paris  itself,  the  constant 
theatre  of  turbulent  factions,  opened  its  gates  to  the  conqueror;  and 
King  Charles  VI,  whose  mental  powers  were  almost  totally  pros- 
trated, was  induced  to  take  the  English  monarch  for  his  son-in-law, 
and,  contrary  to  the  i'undamental  rules  of  inheritance  in  France,  to 
appoint  him  his  successor.  The  dauphin  Charles,  who  was  heir 
apparent  to  the  crown,  appealed  from  this  illegal  disinherison  to  God 
and  to  the  sword.  After  the  death  of  his  unfortunate  and  cruelly 
misled  father,  in  1422,  he  caused  himself  to  be  acknowledged  sove- 
reign in  all  the  provinces  situated  on  the  south  of  the  river  Loire,  the 
others  being  occupied  by  the  English  and  their  partisans,  who  called 
him,  through  mockery,  King  of  Bourses.  The  same  year  witnessed 
also  the  premature  death  of  his  formidable  rival,  Henry  V,  who  had 
not  reached  his  thirty-fifth  year.  This  great  prince  expired  on  the 
last  day  of  August,  leaving  an  infant  son,  Henry  VI,  who  was 
crowned  king  of  England  and  France,  under  the  regency  of  his  two 
uncles,  the  dukes  of  Gloucester  and  Bedford. 


4.  D.  1423-1453.    HENRY  VI  AND  CHARLES  VII.  327 

§  II.  HENRY  VI  AND  CHARLES  VII.  (A.  D.  1422—1453). 

THE  important  events  just  mentioned,  and  the  change  of  the  prin- 
cipal leaders  in  each  party,  though  ultimately  advantageous  to  France, 
did  not  present  at  first  a  favorable  prospect  for  that  kingdom.  The 
duke  of  Bedford,  a  courageous  and  skilful  prince,  was  determined  to 
effect  its  entire  subjection,  and  for  a  time  was  so  successful,  that 
Charles  VII,  after  several  defeats,  found  himself  destitute  of  money, 
troops  and  assistance,  having  but  a  few  knights  who  remained  true 
to  his  cause.  His  situation  became  still  more  perplexing,  when  the 
English,  always  advancing  in  their  course  of  conquest,  laid  siege  to 
Orleans,  the  only  town  that  prevented  them  from  crossing  with  safety 
the  river  Loire,  and  invading  the  southern  provinces  (A.  D.  1429). 

On  both  sides  the  siege  gave  rise  to  innumerable  and  wonderful 
exertions  of  ability  and  vigor,  the  resistance  being,  on  all  occasions, 
proportionate  to  the  attack.  As,  however,  the  English  received  fresh 
supplies  of  provisions  and  troops  with  greater  facility  than  the  gar- 
rison of  the  place,  its  fall  was  confidently  anticipated  by  them,  and 
the  most  gloomy  apprehensions  began  to  prevail  in  the  councils  of 
the  French  monarch.  Charles  himself  meditated  a  retreat  into  the 
distant  county  of  Provence;  when  he  unexpectedly,  and  from  an 
extraordinary  source,  received  assistance  which  revived  his  hopes, 
filled  his  enemies  with  dismay,  and  turned  forever  the  tide  of  success. 

In  a  village,  on  the  borders  of  Lorraine,  lived  a  country  girl 
named  Joan,  about  seventeen  years  of  age,  and  of  irreproachable 
character.  When  the  hope  of  saving  Orleans  was  almost  abandoned, 
she  presented  herself  before  the  governor  of  Vaucouleurs,  and  main- 
tained, with  extraordinary  confidence,  that  she  was  commissioned  by 
heaven  to  raise  the  siege  of  that  place,  and  to  procure  the  coronation 
of  the  king  in  the  city  of  Rheims.  Her  tone  of  conviction  and  her 
repeated  assurances  prevailed  upon  the  governor  to  send  her  well 
guarded  to  Charles;  she  met  the  French  court  at  Chinon  in  Tou- 
taine.  There,  whatever  may  be  said  by  several  recent  authors  in 
opposition  to  the  multitude  of  more  ancient  documents,  every  precau- 
tion was  taken  to  avoid  even  the  possibility  of  illusion  or  imposture.* 
Joan  underwent  a  most  rigid  examination  before  a  committeeof  per- 
sons eminent  for  their  prudence  and  learning,  and  also  before  the 

*  See  Hist,  de  Joanne  d'drc,  12mo ; — Hist,  de  VEgl.  Bdraut-Bercastel, 
vol..  vm,  pp.  31—35 ; — Hist,  de  I'Egl.  Gall., discours  sur  la  Pucelle  d' Orleans, 
at  the  end  of  the  16th  vol.,  where  the  learned  author,  F.  Berthier,  adduces 
innumerable  evidences,  and  upwards  of  twenty  contemporary  or  almost  con- 
temporary authors,  French,  Italian,  German,  etc.  in  favor  of  Joan  d'Arc 
and  of  her  claim  to  a  divine  mission. 


I 


328  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Part  VI. 


courtiers,  and  the  king  himself;  and  she  constantly  gave  such 
marks  of  sagacity,  wisdom,  and  more  than  human  knowledge,  as  to 
cause  her  claims  to  a  supernatural  mission  to  be  very  generally 
admitted.  She  consequently  received  the  complete  armor  of  a  knight, 
and  the  liberation  of  Orleans  was  intrusted  to  her  charge. 

The  first  exploit  of  Joan  was  her  entrance  into  the  besieged  city, 
and  her  success  in  conveying  a  plentiful  and  much  needed  supply  of 
provisions  to  the  garrison,  at  the  head  of  which  she  then  successively 
attacked  and  carried  the  strongest  posts  of  the  English.  The  enemy, 
dispirited  by  so  many  losses,  hastily  abandoned  the  siege ;  but,  being 
pursued  by  the  heroine,  and  driven  from  the  towns  into  which  they 
had  retired,  they  were  completely  defeated  at  Patay,  with  the  logs  of 
nearly  five  thousand  men,  whilst  the  French  had  only  one  man  ot 
their  number  killed. 

Joan  had  always  declared  that  the  object  of  her  mission  was  two- 
fold, the  liberation  of  Orleans,  and  the  coronation  of  the  king  at 
Rheims.  The  first  of  these  objects  being  accomplished,  she  now 
urged  the  execution  of  the  second ;  and,  though  the  attempt  was  a 
dangerous  one,  the  intermediate  country  being  in  possession  of  the 
English  or  of  the  Burgundians,  their  allies,  she  prevailed  upon 
Charles  to  place  full  confidence  in  her  promises;  nor  \vas  he  in  any 
way  deceived.  As  soon  as  he  began  his  march  with  twelve  thousand 
men,  all  obstacles  disappeared,  or  were  easily  overcome;  and  the 
citizens  of  Rheims,  having  expelled  the  Burgundian  garrison,  re- 
ceived him  with  the  most  flattering  demonstrations  of  joy. 

The  coronation  was  performed  in  the  usual  manner.  During  the 
ceremony,  Joan,  in  her  warlike  dress,  and  with  her  banner  unfurled 
stood  filled  with  grateful  emotions  near  the  altar;  when  it  was  over, 
she  threw  herself  on  her  knees,  declared  her  mission  accomplished, 
and  with  tears  solicited  leave  to  return  to  her  country-life;  but  the 
king  being  unwilling  to  lose  her  services  so  soon,  she,  at  his  request, 
consented  to  remain  with  the  army.  Her  courage  indeed  was  always 
the  same,  but  success  did  not  follow  her  exertions  so  constantly  as 
before.  Having  undertaken  to  defend  Compiegne  as  she  had  done 
Orleans,  and  making  a  sally  at  the  head  of  some  troops,  she  fell, 
notwithstanding  her  heroic  efforts,  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy. 
The  shouts  of  the  English  and  Burgundians  announced  her  fate  to 
the  besieged,  whom  this  melancholy  news  threw  into  deep  affliction; 
the  place  however  continued  to  defy  the  power  of  the  assailants,  and 
the  siege  was  raised  by  the  approach  of  a  French  army  (A.  D.  1430). 

The  unfortunate  maid  was  treated  with  neglect  by  her  friends, 
with  cruelty  by  her  enemies.  Charles,  who  owed  so  much  to  her, 
does  not  seem  to  have  made  any  efforts  to  rescue  her  from  captivity; 
but  whether  he  acted  thus,  because  he  thought  his  endeavors  would 


A.  o.  1422-1453.    HENRY  VI  AND  CHARLES  VII.  329 

be  unavailing,  or  because  he  yielded  to  the  jealousy  of  some  of  the 
courtiers  and  generals  against  Joan,  is  uncertain.  The  English, 
exasperated  hy  the  repeated  defeats  and  losses  she  had  caused  them, 
resolved  to  gratify  their  revenge.  For  this  purpose,  nothing,  not 
even  the  most  iniquitous  proceeding,  was  left  untried ;  and,  to  the 
eternal  disgrace  of  the  duke  of  Bedford  and  of  the  committee  which 
he  had  appointed,  the  awful  crimes  of  sacrilege,  bla,sphemy  and 
sorcery  were  imputed  to  the  heroine  who  had  given  constant  and 
undeniable  proofs  of  her  piety,  as  well  as  innocence  and  purity  of 
life.  Her  death  was  desired;  she  was  executed  at  the  stake  as  a  sor- 
ceress, in  the  market-place  of  Rouen,  before  an  immense  concourse 
of  spectators,  who  could  not  restrain  their  tears.  Twenty-five  years 
later,  her  condemnation  was  reversed  by  the  archbishop  of  Rheims 
and  the  bishops  of  Paris  and  Coutances,  whom  Pope  Calixtus  III 
had  designated  to  revise  the  mock  trial.  After  the  most  assiduous 
and  minute  inquiries,  after  hearing  one  hundred  and  twelve  persons 
of  unexceptionable  character,  dukes,  counts,  magistrates,  etc.,  who 
formerly  had  been  witnesses  of  the  superhuman  virtues  and  exploits 
of  Joan  d'Arc;  they  pronounced  the  first  sentence  passed  against  her 
unjust,  wicked  and  slanderous;  and  she  was  solemnly  declared  inno- 
cent of  all  the  crimes  with  which  she  had  been  charged  by  her 
enemies.* 

The  English  had  cherished  a  hope  that  the  death  of  Joan  would 

*  Several  writers,  and  Dr.  Lingard  himself,  who  upon  this  matter  seems 
not  to  have  been  sufficiently  acquainted  with  the  best  sources  of  informa- 
tion, have  endeavored  to  explain  the  marvellous  actions  of  the  Maid  of 
Orleans  by  mere  natural  causes;  ascribing  them  to  enthusiastic  excitement, 
to  a  deluded  imagination,  which  the  French  court  was  careful  to  put  to 
profit.  If,  however,  we  attentively  consider  that  Joan  d'Arc,  a  timid  girl, 
not  more  than  seventeen  years  of  age,  and  hitherto  employed,  not  in  a  city, 
but  in  the  peaceful  and  modest  occupations  of  a  country  life,  from  the 
moment  she  appeared  in  court  and  at  the  head  of  armies,  evinced  in  every 
thing  a  surprising  wisdom  and  energy  of  soul ;  that  she  became,  on  a  sudden, 
an  intrepid  warrior  and  an  accomplished  commander,  whilst  she  always 
remained  a  perfect  model  of  innocence,  piety  and  all  Christian  virtues ;  that 
her  claim  to  a  supernatural  mission  was,  after  the  severest  trials,  admitted 
by  persons  of  every  description,  by  her  countrymen  and  by  foreigners,  by 
friends  and  foes,  and  even  by  the  greatest  enemies  of  France,  whose  desire 
it  was  to  have  her  conduct  attributed  to  an  evil  principle;  that  all  she  said 
was  found  true ;  that  all  she  foretold  exactly  happened  in  the  time,  place 
and  other  circumstances  predicted ;  if  we  attentively  consider  all  -this,  we 
will  surely  find  it  difficult,  nay,  absolutely  impossible,  not  to  acknowledge 
in  the  authentic  story  of  Joan  d'Arc  something  above  the  ordinary  laws  of 
nature ;  not  to  believe  that  she  really  was  under  the  special  guidance  of 
heaven,  and  admit  in  her  public  career  a  display  of  the  power  and  wis- 
dom of  God,  who  chooses  the  weak  things  of  the  world  that  he  may  confounn. 
the  strong  (1  Cor.  i,  27),  and  who,  after  having  humbled  France,  wished  to 
raise  it  again  by  the  hands  of  a  woman,  as  he  formerly  saved  his  chosen 
people  through  the  instrumentality  of  Deborah,  Judith  and  Esther. 


330  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Part 


incline  the  balance  in  their  favor;  in  this  they  were  disappointed. 
Such  was  the  impulse  just  given  by  this  heroism  to  the  course  of 
events,  that  England  could  no  longer  arrest  the  progress  of  France. 
Charles  took  Paris  with  most  of  the  other  places  conquered  by  Henry 
V,  and  the  British  retained  the  rest,  only  in  virtue  of  a  truce  which 
the  two  nations  concluded  in  1444.  Thus  did  Henry  VI  lose  one  of 
the  two  crowns  that  he  had  inherited  from  his  father;  whilst  the 
other  likewise  began  to  sit  lightly  on  his  head,  owing  to  the  rise  of 
strong  and  hostile  parties  in  his  own  kingdom. 

During  this  season  of  calamity  for  Great  Britain,  the  state  of  the 
French  monarchy  was  considerably  improved  by  the  wise  adminis- 
tration of  Charles  VII.  The  better  to  repair  past  evils  and  prevent 
their  recurrence,  he  established  several  bodies  of  regular  and  standing 
troops,  from  whose  cooperation  both  he  and  his  successors  derived 
the  greatest  advantages  in  upholding  the  dignity  of  their  crown,  re- 
pelling foreign  invaders,  and  restoring  tranquillity  in  the  provinces. 
Stability  and  peace  every  where  took  the  place  of  disturbances  and 
commotions.  The  former  strength  of  the  nation  was  restored  ;  and 
every  thing  now  conduced  to  the  final  overthrow  of  the  English  on 
the  continent. 

in  the  year  1449,  Francis  Surienne,  a  British  commander,  having 
been  guilty  of  an  infraction  of  the  existing  truce,  by  capturing  and 
plundering  the  town  of  Fougeres,  the  French  king  availed  himself 
of  the  opportunity  to  renew  the  war  with  immense  advantage. 
England  was  involved  in  domestic  dissensions  ;  and  her  power  abroad 
had  been  much  weakened  by  the  recent  loss  of  two  battles  against 
the  Scots.  In  one  year,  Charles  recovered  Normandy  with  its  hun- 
dred fortresses.  A  like  success  attended  his  arms  in  the  invasion  of 
Guienne;  the  decisive  victories  of  Fourmigni  and  Chatillon,  the 
former  in  the  north,  the  latter  in  the  south  of  France,  secured  his 
conquests  ;  and  the  English  were  driven  from  every  inch  of  ground 
they  had  possessed  in  that  kingdom,  with  the  exception  of  the  city  of 
Calais  (A.  D.  1453). 

About  this  time,  Poland,  until  then  comparatively  little  known, 
rose  in  point  of  civilization,  glory  and  power,  to  a  conspicuous  rank 
among  the  European  states.  For  this  elevation,  she  was  indebted  to 
the  government  of  the  Jagellos,  who  occupied  the  Polish  throne  nearly 
two  hundred  years,  from  1386  to  1572.  Germany  also  flourished 
at  this  period  under  the  emperor  Sigismond,  who  reigned  from  1410 
to  1437.  Though  unsuccessful  in  war,  that  prince  governed  with 
honor  and  ability  in  time  of  peace,  and  was  enabled  to  transmit  his 
ihree  crowns  of  Germany,  Bohemia  and  Hungary  to  Albert  of  Aus- 
tria, his  son-in-law;  thus  laying  the  foundation  of  that  great  power 
and  influence  which  the  house  of  Austria  so  long  enjoyed  in  Europe. 


D.  U5a  FALL  OF  CONSTANTINOPLE.  331 


FALL  OF  CONSTANTINOPLE.— A.  D.  1453. 


THE  Greek  empire,  in  the  mean  time,  was  drawing  near  to  its  ex- 
tinction. The  defeat  of  Bajazet  Ilderim  by  Tamerlane  had,  it  is 
true,  delivered  Constantinople  from  that  terrible  sultan  of  the  Turks, 
but  not  from  the  Turks  themselves,  who,  in  a  short  time,  reappeared 
on  the  field  of  battle,  as  undaunted  and  powerful  as  ever.  After  the 
pacific  reign  of  Mahomet  I,  who  died  in  1421,  Amurat  II,  his  son 
and  successor,  renewed  hostilities  against  the  Greeks,  the  Hunga- 
rians, and  other  Christian  nations  in  the  vicinity  of  his  frontiers. 
Notwithstanding  the  losses  and  defeats  which  he  occasionally  sus- 
tained, he  continued  to  gain  ground,  and  at  last  gave  the  deadly  blow  to 
the  league  of  his  opponents  in  the  famous  battle  of  Varna,  in  1444. 
This  battle  was  more  fatal  to  the  cause  of  Christendom  than  that  of 
Nicopolis  had  been,  in  as  much  as  it  opened  a  wide  field  to  the  en- 
terprising spirit  of  the  Turks,  and  deprived  Constantinople  of  its  last 
resources. 

In  fine,  Mahomet  II  appeared,  the  most  terrible  of  all  the  Turkish 
sultans.  No  sooner  had  he  grasped  the  sceptre  left  by  his  father 
Amurat,  than  he  resolved  to  snatch  the  Greek  capital  from  the  hands 
of  the  reigning  emperor,  Constantine  Paleologus  or  Dragazes,  a  prince 
worthy  of  better  times,  but  whose  heroic  exertions  could  postpone 
only  for  a  short  period  the  fall  of  Constantinople.  This  was  the  last 
struggle  between  a  power  recently  founded,  but  already  the  most  for- 
midable in  the  world,  and  an  ancient  monarchy,  the  glory  of  which 
had  filled  the  whole  earth,  but  which  now  presented  nothing  but  de- 
generacy and  discord. 

There  was  not  less  difference  in  the  character  of  the  two  monarchs 
than  in  the  respective  strength  and  fate  of  their  empires.  All  ad- 
mired the  virtue  and  moderation  of  Paleologus,  his  prudence  in 
council,  his  intrepidity  on  the  field  of  battle,  and  his  unshaken  firm- 
ness in  adversity.  Mahomet  displayed  on  every  occasion  a  bold  and 
haughty  spirit,  and  a  boundless  ambition.  He  was,  we  are  told,  a 
lover  of  the  arts  and  sciences,  and  could  speak  several  languages ; 
but  those  pacific  studies  had  not  curbed  his  ferocious  temper;  in  war, 
be  spared  neither  his  enemies  nor  his  own  soldiers,  and  frequently 
peace  itself  was  rendered  bloody  by  the  violence  of  his  passions. — 
The  last  successor  of  Constantine-the-Great  possessed  all  the  virtues 
of  a  Christian  and  magnanimous  prince ;  the  son  of  Amurat  was 
characterized  by  all  the  vices  of  Mussulman  and  lawless  conqueror. 
As  the  siege  of  Contantinople  was  to  be  commenced  in  the  spring 
of  1453,  the  preceding  winter  was  actively  spent  by  both  parties  in 


332  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Part  V 


maKing  the  necessary  preparations.  Towards  the  first  days  of  April, 
the  imperial  city  was  surrounded  by  a  fleet  of  three  hundred  and 
twenty  vessels,  and  by  a  land  army  of  three  hundred  thousand  men, 
one-third  of  whom  were  cavalry.  To  these  formidable  forces  Con- 
stantine  Paleologus  could  oppose  only  a  few  ships  and  galleys,  and 
eight  or  nine  thousand  warriors,  partly  Greeks  and  partly  Italians , 
with  whom  he  had  to  defend  a  territory  of  about  twelve  miles  in  cir- 
cumference. He  appointed  for  their  commander-in-chief,  Justiniani, 
a  Genoese  officer  of  great  experience,  distributed  them  as  weli  as  he 
possibly  could  throughout  the  different  posts  of  the  rampart,  and  re- 
served for  himself  one  of  the  points  most  exposed  to  the  assaults  of 
the  enemy. 

The  Turks  employed  in  that  siege  all  the  resources  of  the  destruc- 
tive art  of  warfare,  such  as  mines  dug  beneath  the  walls  of  the  city, 
rolling  towers,  battering  rams,  and  a  multitude  of  machines  destined 
to  cast  stones,  darts  and  arrows.  Above  all,  the  use  of  artillery  hav- 
ing now  become  general,  Mahomet  did  not  fail  to  supply  his  troops 
with  this  powerful  means  of  attack,  and  prepared  fourteen  batteries 
of  enormous  cannon,  and  balls  of  proportionate  size.  Some  of  those 
pieces  of  ordnance  could  send  balls  of  two  hundred  pounds  weight; 
and  one  of  them  in  particular,  called  Basilica,  sent  a  ball  weighing 
upwards  of  six  quintals,  to  the  distance  of  more  than  a  mile.  It  re- 
quired two  thousand  men  and  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  oxen,  to 
remove  it  from  the  spot  where  it  was  made,  to  its  intended  battery. 
Its  interior  circumference  was  nine  feet,  and  its  weight  thirty  or  forty 
thousand  pounds.  But  experience  proved  that  the  use  of  such  enor- 
mous guns  produced  greater  encumbrance  and  disadvantage  than  real 
utility ',  this  was  the  case  particularly  with  the  famous  Basilica, 
which  soon  burst  with  a  frightful  explosion,  and  killed,  among  other 
persons,  its  very  maker,  who  was  a  Hungarian  apostate. 

The  Greeks  too  were  abundantly  provided  with  military  engines, 
cannon  and  Grecian  fire,  which  they  used  with  dreadful  effect  against 
the  Turks,  day  and  night  repelling  their  assaults,  ruining  their  works, 
and  consigning  their  machines  to  the  flames.  These  heroic  exertions 
were  owing  chiefly  to  the  emperor  and  his  general  Justiniani,  whose 
indefatigable  activity  seemed  to  multiply  their  persons  and  make  them 
present  in  every  place  where  succor  was  required.  It  seemed  as  if 
they  had  communicated  their  energy  and  courage  to  all  the  soldiers 
of  the  garrison. 

When  Mahomet  perceived  that  the  exterior  fortifications  of  the 
town  had  been  almost  entirely  destroyed  by  the  continual  firing  of 
his  artillery,  he  commanded  his  troops  to  prepare  for  an  assault 
His  hope  of  success  rested  principally  on  a  wooden  tower  many 
stories  high  and  full  of  combatants,  which  he  caused,  with  all  possi- 


4,  D.  1453.  FALL   OF   CONSTANTINOPLE.  333 

ble  precaution,  to  advance  towards  the  wall.  Here  a  fierce  conflict 
took  place,  which  was  continued  two  days  with  incredible  animosity 
and  prodigious  efforts  on  both  sides.  At  length",  victory  declared  in. 
favcr  of  the  Greeks;  the  Turks  were  repelled,  and  had  the  mortifica 
tion  to  see  their  wooden  tower  overthrown  and  soon  reduced  to  ashes 
This  unexpected  result  highly  exasperated  Mahomet,  who  could  not 
forbear  saying  that,  had  thirty  thousand  prophets  foretold  so  extraor- 
dinary a  disaster,  he  would  not  have  believed  the  prediction. 

A  few  weeks  after  this  event,  a  similar  disgrace  which  befell  his 
fleet  and  which  he  himself  witnessed,  threw  him  into  a  paroxysm 
of  rage.  Four  Christian  vessels  appeared  in  sight  of  Constantinople, 
and,  disregarding  the  great  number  of  the  Ottoman  ships,  fearlessly 
advanced  towards  the  harbor.  The  enemy  went  to  obstruct  their  pas- 
sage, with  full  confidence  of  an  easy  victory ;  but  the  four  frigates 
opened  upon  them  so  terrible  and  so  well-timed  a  fire,  that  many  of  the 
Turkish  vessels  were  sunk,  and  others  greatly  damaged.  Mahomet, 
who  had  observed  the  combat  from  a  neighboring  hill,  descended, 
foaming  with  rage,  and  spurring  his  horse  into  the  sea,  even  at  the 
risk  of  his  life,  loaded  the  commanders  of  his  galleys  with  the  most 
bitter  reproaches,  and  was  carried  so  far  by  his  passion  as  brutally  to 
strike  the  admiral  with  a  golden  rod  which  he  held  in  his  hand. 
But  all  his  fury  and  threats  were  idle ;  the  four  ships  steadily  pur- 
sued their  course;  and,  continuing  to  disperse  his  navy,  opened  foi 
themselves  a  free  passage  to  the  harbor,  where  they  entered  in  tri- 
umph amidst  the  acclamations  of  the  Greeks,  who,  from  the  top  of 
their  ramparts,  had  also  been  spectators  of  the  combat.  It  is  supposed 
that  the  Turks  had  sent  about  two  hundred  vessels  against  this  intrepid 
flotilla,  and,  without  killing  one  single  Christian,  lost  no  fewer  than 
twelve  thousand  men.* 

The  besieged  had  a  very  great  advantage,  as  long  as  they  kept 
possession  of  their  excellent  harbor;  nor  could  the  Ottoman  fleet 
force  its  entrance,  which  was  obstructed  by  a  line  of  strong  galleys 
and  an  enormous  chain  of  iron  reaching  from  shore  to  shore.  To 
deprive  them  of  this  resource,  Mahomet  conceived  the  bold  design 

*  This  event  and  other  similar  incidents  plainly  show  the  great  superiori- 
ty of  the  Christians  over  the  Ottomans,  in  discipline,  military  science  and 
valor.  If  the  latter  were  at  length  successful  in  overthrowing  the  Greek 
empire,  this  was  evidently  owing  to  their  vast  multitude,  and  to  the  con- 
tinual arrival  of  reenforcements,  rather  than  to  real  and  well  directed 
bravery.  How  great  the  difference  between  the  warriors  of  the  fifth  cru- 
sade and  those  of  Mahomet  II !  Here  we  see  three  hundred  thousand  Turks, 
supplied  with  a  formidable  artillery,  scarcely  able,  after  a  siege  of  eight 
weeks,  to  take  Constantinople,  whose  garrison  did  not  amount  to  more 
than  eight  or  nine  thousand  soldiers;  whereas  twenty  thousand  crusaders, 
in  three  days,  carried  it  by  storm,  in  spite  of  the  efforts  of  more  than  two 
hundred  thousand  men,  by  whom  it  was  defended ! 


I 


334  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Part  VI. 


of  transporting  by  land  seventy  or  eighty  of  his  vessels  from  the  sea 
into  the  port.  This  fact,  though  it  may  seem  incredible,  is  related  in 
substance  by  all  the  contemporary  historians.  With  regard  to  its 
circumstances,  it  appears  that,  by  dint  of  men  and  machines,  the 
vessels  were  caused  to  roll  through  a  space  of  three  or  four  miles 
over  planks  thickly  covered  with  grease.  As  all  was  done  during 
the  night  with  great  celerity,  the  garrison  and  inhabitants  of  (Constan- 
tinople did  not  suspect  the  fatal  scheme,  until  it  was  too  late  to  prevent 
its  execution.  They  were  surprised  and  alarmed  at  seeing  the  enemy 
now  near  their  ramparts  and  their  homes,  and  they  attempted,  but  in 
vain,  to  destroy  the  Turkish  vessels,  by  means  of  the  Grecian  fire, 
which  had  so  often  before  saved  Constantinople.  Forty  of  their 
most  intrepid  warriors,  who  had  taken  upon  themselves  this  hazard 
ous  enterprise,  were  basely  betrayed,  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Turks, 
ami  paid  with  their  lives  for  their  generous  devotedness. 

The  garrison,  however,  continued  to  defend  itself  with  admirable 
vigor,  alter  the  example  of  the  emperor,  whose  exertions  seemed  to 
be  the  effect  of  almost  superhuman  energy.  This  excellent  prince 
was  acting,  at  the  same  time,  the  part  of  a  father,  a  sovereign,  a 
soldier,  and  a  general;  scarcely  allowing  himself  any  repose,  but 
continually  occupied  in  encouraging  by  word  and  example  a  pusil- 
lanimous and  ill-disposed  people,  or  sharing  with  his  brave  garrison  in 
the  fatigues  of  the  siege  and  the  dangers  of  unceasing  combats. 
During  the  day,  he  was  foremost  in  fighting  and  repelling  the  enemy; 
during  the  night,  his  chief  occupation  was  to  reconcile,  to  soothe  and 
to  relieve  by  every  means  in  his  power,  his  discontented,  distressed, 
and  ungrateful  subjects.  Thus,  without  ever  deviating  from  the  line 
of  social  and  Christian  virtue,  Paleologus  displayed  a  valor  and  mag- 
nanimity which  made  him  not  only  equal,  but  even  superior  to  the 
perils  which  surrounded  him;  and,  whilst  he  stood  almost  alone 
upon  the  ruins  of  his  falling  empire,  he  still  seemed  to  bid  defiance  to 
his  implacable  foe. 

As  the  virtuous  emperor  could  not  banish  from  his  mind  the  sad 
apprehension  that  the  day  of  wo  was  approaching,  he  resolved  to 
make  an  additional  sacrifice  of  his  personal  leelings  for  the  preserva- 
tion of  his  people.  He  offered  the  sultan  the  payment  of  any  tribute 
that  might  be  exacted,  provided  the  possession  of  the  imperial  city 
should  be  secured  to  the  Greeks;  but  as  Manomet  absolutely  required 
the  surrender  of  Constantinople  in  exchange  for  some  principality, 
Constantine  nobly  rejected  the  degrading  proposal,  and  preferred  a 
glorious  death. 

Mahomet  himself  was  not  free  from  uneasiness  with  regard  to  the 
final  result  of  the  war;  and  he  had  reason  to  fear  that  it  might  even- 
tually turn  against  himself,  as  his  troops,  dispirited  by  their  losses 


A.  D.  1433.  FALL    OF    CONSTANTINOPLE.  335 

and  by  the  obstinate  resistance  of  the  Greeks,  loudly  called  for  the 
cessation  of  so  bloody  and  perilous  a  siege.  But  the  undaunted  sul 
tan  revived  their  spirits'  by  promising  them  all  the  treasures  of  Con- 
stantinople, should  a  new  attack  upon  that  city  prove  successful. 
The  assault  was  to  take  place  on  the  twenty-ninth  of  May.  At  dusk, 
on  the  eve  of  the  day  appointed,  the  soldiers  were  commanded  to 
assemble,  each  with  a  lighted  torch  at  the  extremity  of  his  lance  01 
cimeter ;  Mahomet  appeared  in  the  midst  of  them,  renewed  his  pro- 
mise, and,  to  render  it  more  sacred,  swore  by  the  eternity  of  God,  by 
four  thousand  prophets,  by  the  soul  of  his  father  Amur  at,  his  own  chil- 
dren, and  his  sword;  upon  which  all  exclaimed:  "God  is  God,  and 
Mahomet  is  his  prophet."  When  this  warlike  ceremony  was  over, 
the  sultan  ordered  a  profound  silence  to  be  observed  throughout  the 
camp;  and  nothing  then  was  heard  round  Constantinople  but  the 
low  murmurs  of  an  army  silently  preparing  for  a  terrible  and  decisive 
assault. 

In  the  imperial  city,  the  garrison  was  attentively  watching  from 
the  ramparts  all  the  movements  of  the  Turks.  Their  repeated  shouts 
had  been  heard  with  anxiety  and  alarm;  the  terror  was  increased 
by  the  sudden  silence  which  ensued,  and  the  light  of  innume- 
rable torches  in  the  camp  being  reflected  by  the  tops  of  the  towers 
and  by  the  steeples  of  churches  in  the  town,  rendered  still  more 
gloomy,  from  the  contrast,  the  darkness  which  covered  the  other 
parts  of  Constantinople.  Paleologus  assembled  his  chief  warriors, 
and  addressed  them  in  a  moving  speech,  exhorting  them  to  encoun- 
ter fearlessly  the  approaching  peril.  He  recommended  presence  of 
mind  to  the  officers,  obedience  to  the  soldiers,  intrepidity  to  all,  and 
spoke  so  feelingly  as  to  draw  tears  from  every  one  of  his  hearers : 
they  embraced  each  other  as  if  for  the  last  time';  and,  after  they  had 
separated,  the  emperor  went  to  pray  and  receive  communion  in  the 
church  of  St.  Sophia.  He  afterwards  visited  the  imperial  palace, 
gave  his  orders,  and  asked  pardon  of  all  persons  there  present  for  the 
faults  which  he  might  have  committed  in  the  government  of  his 
people;  every  one  answered  only  by  his  sighs  and  tears.  He  then 
went  out  overwhelmed  with  affliction,  but  still  generous  and  intrepid, 
and  mounting  on  horseback,  visited  all  the  ramparts,  examined  the 
different  posts  of  the  garrison,  and  finally  resumed  his  own  station, 
the  most  perilous  of  all. 

The  last  day  of  the  Greek  empire  had  now  arrived.  At  one 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  the  clarions  resounded  in  the  Turkish  camp ; 
Mahomet  gave  the  signal  for  the  assault,  and  no  fewer  than  two 
hundred  and  sixty  thousand  soldiers  began  to  storm  the  city  of  Con- 
stantine:  at  day-break,  all  the  troops  on  each  side  were  engaged  in 
the  conflict.  The  Turks,  animated  by  their  usual  wild  fanaticism, 


336  MODERN    HISTORY.  Part  V I. 

by  the  exhortations  of  Mahomet,  by  the  hope  of  victory  and  the 
expectation  of  pillage,  forced  their  way,  with  a  sort  of  phrensy, 
through  guns  and  pikes ;  nor  were  they  deterred  either  by  the  difficult 
access  of  the  breach,  or  by  the  sight  of  their  companions  falling  dead 
around  them  whilst  endeavoring  to  scale  the  wall  with  ladders 
Reckless  of  life,  they  sought  only  to  reach  their  opponents,  and  to 
strike  them  down  with  their  murderous  weapons,  whilst  destructive 
missiles  were  incessantly  thrown  from  their  engines.  But,  if  the 
shock  was  furious,  the  resistance  at  all  points  was  not  less  vigorous 
and  obstinate ;  if  the  assailants  dealt  destruction  among  the  besieged, 
their  own  numbers  were  thinned  by  death  in  its  most  terrible  forms. 
Besides  repeated  and  successful  discharges  of  musketry,  the  soldiers 
of  the  garrison  poured  upon  the  thick  battalions  of  the  Turks  streams 
of  boiling  oil,  melted  wax,  and  Grecian  fire,  and  from  the  top  of  the 
wall  threw  rocks  and  mill-stones,  which  crushed  all  that  came  in  their 
way.  A  considerable  portion  of  the  battlements  and  several  towers 
having  been  demolished  by  the  battering  rams  and  artillery,  the  noble 
defenders  of  Constantinople  presented  themselves  as  a  new  rampart, 
mutfh  more  difficult  to  be  overthrown  than  that  built  of  inanimate 
materials.  The  emperor  fought  at  their  head,  and  set  every  one  an 
example  of  the  most  intrepid  courage :  numbers  of  barbarians  were 
mowed  down  by  the  edge  of  his  sword  j  the  very  sight  of  the  imperial 
banner  struck  terror  into  the  enemy. 

After  a  tremendous  contest  of  two  hours,  Mahomet  advanced  with 
the  choicest  of  his  troops  and  a  body  of  ten  thousand  Janizaries.  He 
appeared  in  the  midst  of  them  with  a  club  in  his  hand,  animating  his 
troops  by  his  fierce  countenance,  and  pointing  out  to  them  the  parts 
of  the  wall  which  they  were  to  attack.  Behind  this  band  stood  other 
bodies  of  troops  destined  to  support  the  assailants,  to  stop  those  who 
might  be  tempted  to  fly,  and  force  them  to  return  to  the  charge. 
The  sound  of  the  clarions,  the  clashing  of  the  swords  and  cimeters, 
the  discharges  of  the  artillery,  the  crash  of  the  falling  ramparts,  all 
contributed  to  render  the  assault  a  scene  of  horror  more  easily  ima- 
gined than  described.  In  this  awful  tumult,  the  Janizaries  them- 
selves began  to  fight  with  some  confusion;  and  Paleologus,  who  had 
perceived  the  circumstance,  was  exhorting  his  brave  attendants  to 
make  a  last  and  decisive  effort,  when  a  fatal  accident  suddenly 
changed  the  aspect  of  the  battle.  General  Jus<iniani  having  received 
a  wound,,  retired,  in  order  to  have  it  dressed.  The  Genoese  and 
ether  auxiliary  troops,  deprived  of  the  presence  of  their  commander- 
in-chief,  began  to  waver,  and,  imitating  his  example,  withdrew  from 
the  conflict.  In  vain  did  Constantine  endeavor  to  rally  them.  Find- 
ing it  impossible  to  save  his  empire,  he  determined  to  fall  with  it,  and 
to  die  as  became  an  emperor.  For  st>me  moments  more,  he  main- 


ju  D.  1453. 


FALL  OF  CONSTANTINOPLE.  337 


tained  the  unequal  contest,  saw  his  last  companions  perish  by  his  side, 
and  at  length  overpowered  by  numbers,  fell  among  the  foremost  of 
the  slain. 

Constantinople  was  now  irretrievably  left  a  prey  to  wild  and  bar- 
barous conquerors.  The  weak  remains  of  its  garrison  were  dis- 
persed; Justiniani  had  retired  to  a  distant  spot,  where  he  shortly  after 
expired.  Amidst  the  inconceivable  tumult  and  desolation  that  reigned 
every  where,  the  Turks  rushed  into  the  city,  and,  in  virtue  of  the 
sultan's  promise,  plundered  it  during  three  days.  About  forty  thou- 
sand of  its  unfortunate  inhabitants  were  put  to  the  sword,  and  sixty 
thousand  detained  as  captives.  Among  those  who  had  the  happiness 
to  escape,  many  fled  to  the  western  parts  of  Europe,  where,  having 
established  their  residence,  they  greatly  concurred  in  reviving  the 
fine  arts,  polite  literature,  and  a  relish  for  the  study  of  oriental 
languages. 

Thus,  as  the  Western  empire,  which  had  been  founded  by  Augus- 
tus, expired  under  Jlugustulus;  so  the  Eastern  empire,  which  had 
been  founded  by  a  Constanline,  fell  under  another  Constantine,  eleven 
hundred  and  twenty-three  years  after  the  building  of  Constantinople. 
Gradually  stripped  of  its  extensive  possessions,  it  had  long  continued 
to  subsist,  at  least  within  the  precincts  of  its  capital,  like  a  majestic 
pillar  which  supports  the  last  arch  of  a  decaying  edifice.  It  at  length 
disappeared  under  the  repeated  attacks  of  the  barbarians,  and  its 
downfall  afforded  to  the  world  a  new  evidence  of  this  truth,  that 
nothing  is  unchangeable  which  has  been  established  by  men,  and  that 
the  works  of  God  alone  remain  forever. 


MAHOMET  II  CONTINUED. 


As  soon  as  order  and  tranquillity  began  to  succeed  the  awful 
scenes  of  bloodshed,  plunder  and  destruction,  which  attended  the 
capture  of  Constantinople,  Mahomet  left  his  camp,  and  took  solemn 
possession  of  this  unhappy  city  which  his  efforts  had  finally  subdued. 
By  evincing  a  certain  moderation  towards  the  vanquished,  and  adopt- 
ing some  other  measures  of  policy,  he  succeeded  in  retaining  within 
the  town  the  sad  remnant  of  its  inhabitants, and  in  supplying  the 
absence  of  those  who  had  perished ;  and  from  that  time,  the  former 
capital  of  the  Greek  empire  became  the  chief  city  of  the  Turkish 
dominions.  The  sultan  then  examined  what  country  he  should 
next  add  to  his  vast  monarchy,  the  measure  of  his  ambition  being 
to  acknowledge  no  measure.  Unfortunately  for  the  neighboring 
princes,  the  long  duration  of  his  reign  enabled  him  to  attack  them  all 
29 


338  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Part 


in  succession.  Either  by  fraud  and  stratagem,  or  by  violence  and 
open  war,  he  succeeded  so  far  in  his  mighty  schemes  of  conquest,  as 
to  destroy  another  empire  (Trebisonde),  subdue  twelve  kingdoms,  and 
capture  more  than  two  hundred  cities. 

Mahornet  failed  however  in  his  attempt  to  establish  a  universal 
empire,  which  was  the  great  aim  of  his  ambition.  At  the  time  when 
he  assumed  the  most  threatening  attitude,  Divine  Providence  had 
already  raised  up  three  great  men  to  check  his  progress,  and  save 
Europe  from  his  destructive  sway. 


§  I.  MAHOMET  II  AND  HUNNIADES.— A.  D.  1453—1456. 

THE  first  of  these  was  John  Corvinus  Hunniades,  prince  of  Tran- 
sylvania and  governor  of  Hungary,  who  had  previously  distinguished 
himself  by  his  many  exploits  against  Amurat  II.  Although  he 
lost  the  battle  of  Varna  in  1444,  his  name  continued  to  be  so  formi- 
dable to  the  infidels,  that  the  Turkish  women  made  use  of  it  to  frigh- 
ten their  little  children,  and  the  mere  rumor  of  his  approach  at  the 
head  of  an  army,  almost  raised  the  siege  of  Constantinople.  After 
the  fall  of  that  capital,  the  hopes  of  Christian  Europe  chiefly  rested 
upon  him,  and  his  sword  was  in  reality  its  principal  defence  against 
tne  attacks  of  Mahomet. 

Belgrade,  a  considerable  and  well  fortified  town  at  the  confluence 
of  the  Danube  and  of  the  Save,  had  been  for  some  time  an  object  of 
particular  envy  for  the  Ottomans.  In  June  (A.  D.  1456),  it  was 
invested  by  an  army  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  men,  whom 
the  sultan  led  in  person,  and  by  a  fleet  so  numerous  that  the  vessels 
covered  the  two  rivers.  The  soldiers  of  the  garrison  bravely  main- 
tained their  position,  and,  until  the  middle  of  July  withstood  with 
indomitable  valor  all  the  efforts  of  the  assailants;  still,  the  place,  thus 
closely  besieged  and  battered  day  and  night  by  a  formidable  artillery, 
was  in  imminent  danger  of  being  reduced  by  famine  or  by  storm, 
when  the  banners  of  Hunniades,  who  was  hastening  to  its  assistance, 
were  seen  waving  upon  the  summits  of  the  surrounding  mountains, 
and  his  fleet  at  the  same  time  appeared  sailing  down  the  Danube. 
This  great  man  did  not  hesitate,  with  raw  and  half  disciplined  troops, 
to  attack  the  whole  Turkish  fleet,  which  obstructed  his  passage.  The 
shock  was  so  furious,  the  resistance  so  obstinate,  and  the  slaughter 
so  great,  that  the  waters  of  the  Danube  seemed  changed  into  blood. 
At  length,  the  line  of  the  Turks  being  broken,  several  of  their  gallies 
were  captured;  the  others  withdrew;  and  the  conquerors  entered  the 
town,  amidst  the  loud  acclamations  of  the  inhabitants,  who  hailed 


A.  D.  1453-1456.    MAHOMET  AND  HUNIVIADES.  339 

the  arrival  of  Hunniades  among  them  as  a  sure  sign  of  their 
approaching  deliverance. 

Still,  the  danger  was  not  yet  past.  The  sultan,  far  from  being 
dispirited,  with  redoubled  energy  caused  the  walls  of  Belgrade  to  be 
BO  furiously  and  so  incessantly  battered,  as  to  render  their  further 
reparation  impossible.  No  sooner  was  the  breach  sufficiently  wide, 
than  the  Turks  rushed  to  the  assault,  and  in  order  to  divide  the  forces 
of  the  besieged,  applied  ladders  to  many  places  at  once;  they  how- 
ever advanced  but  little  on  that  day.  After  having  reposed  during 
the  night,  the  attack  was  renewed  with  still  greater  fury  than  before. 
In  a  few  moments,  so  fierce  was  the  conflict,  that  the  combatants 
were  mixed  together  sometimes  upon  the  breach,  sometimes  within 
the  town  itself,  the  Christians  and  the  Turks  alternately  obtaining  the 
advantage.  During  this  long  period  of  awful  suspense,  Hunniades 
proved  himself  both  a  general  and  a  soldier;  throwing  himself  into 
the  thickest  part  of  the  battle,  he  slew,  or  wounded  and  dispersed  all 
within  his  reach ;  while  on  the  side  of  the  Turks,  Mahomet  was 
seen  in  the  midst  of  the  Janizaries,  venting  his  anger,  animating  his 
troops,  and  exposing  himself  to  the  greatest  dangers. 

It  was  thus  that  boldness  and  the  hope  of  victory,  well  regulated 
valor  and  desperate  courage,  exhibited  the  whole  day  a  frightful 
scene  of  carnage,  and  produced  a  variety  of  exploits  which  it  would 
be  impossible  to  enumerate.  It  will  suffice  here  to  mention  one  of 
them,  which  really  deserves  particular  notice.  A  Hungarian  soldier, 
of  common  rank,  but  of  heroic  sentiments,  saw  a  Turk  ascend  to  the 
top  of  a  tower,  where  he  began  to  plant  his  banner  with  the  view  of 
driving  the  Christians  to  despondency. -by  making  them  believe  that 
the  city  was  already  taken.  Without  losing  an  instant,  he  hastened 
after  the  Turk,  and  strove  to  wrest  the  banner  from  him;  finding 
himself  unable  to  effect  his  purpose,  he  seized  the  Turk,  and,  with 
the  strength  of  despair,  dragged  him  along  with  himself  from  the  top 
of  the  tower,  and  by  his  death  averted  impending  ruin  from  the 
Christians. 

At  this  moment,  Kasan,  the  bravest  of  the  Turks,  was  struck 
dead  near  Mahomet,  and  the  Janizaries  began  to  waver  and  retire 
from  the  bloody  conflict.  The  sultan,  by  threats  and  promises,  en- 
deavored but  in  vain  to  rally  his  dispirited  soldiers;  being  himself 
wounded  by  an  arrow,  and  having  lost  the  use  of  his  senses,  he  was 
carried  away  from  the  field  of  battle,  where  the  slaughter  of  the 
Turks  continued  until  the  remains  of  their  army  escaped  by  flight. 
There  were  found  in  the  camp  which  they  hastily  abandoned,  about 
two  hundred  pieces  of  heavy  artillery,  forty  colors,  and  an  incredible 
quantity  of  ammunition,  baggage,  splendid  tents,  and  other  valuable 
objects.  The  battle  had  lasted,  it  is  said,  twenty  hours,  and  was  the 


340  MODERN   HISTORY.  Parl  VL 

severest  check  that  the  Ottomans  received  during  the  long  reigu 
of  Mahomet.  When  the  sultan,  after  having  recovered  his  senses, 
was  informed  of  the  extent  of  his  disaster,  he  was  with  difficulty  pre- 
vented from  killing  himself  in  despair.  Nor  was  this  a  transient  or 
momentary  impression ;  as  long  as  he  lived,  he  could  not  think  of 
Belgrade,  without  falling  into  a  paroxysm  of  madness. 

Hunniades  did  not  long  survive  this  glorious  event;  only  five 
weeks  later,  a  violent  fever,  occasioned  by  the  fatigues  of  the  last 
campaign  and  by  the  infection  of  the  Turkish  camp,  carried  him  off 
on  the  tenth  of  September,  of  the  same  year  1456.  Being  attended 
in  his  last  moments  by  St.  John  Capistran,  his  faithful  admirer  and 
friend,  whose  eloquent  exhortations  had  greatly  contributed  to  the 
victory  of  Belgrade,  he  died,  as  he  had  lived,  with  the  pious  and 
noble  sentiments  of  a  Christian  hero,  after  having  caused  himself  to 
be  carried  to  the  church  for  the  purposeof  receiving  the  Holy  Viati- 
cum, "  it  being  proper,"  he  said,  "  that  the  servant  should  go  to  his 
Lord,  rather  than  that  the  Lord  should  come  to  his  servant."  The 
death  of  this  great  man,  the  news  of  which  was  rapidly  spread,  again 
brought  over  Europe  that  gloom  which  his  victory  had  dispelled. 
Pope  Calixtus  III,  on  being  apprized  of  the  sad  event,  shed  an  abun- 
dance of  tears;  and  Mahomet  himself  is  said  to  have  exclaimed  in  a 
melancholy  tone :  "  Never  was  there  a  greater  general  in  the  world; 
and  now  that  he  is  dead,  there  is  none  whose  overthrow  could  be  a 
sufficient  compensation  for  my  defeat."  This,  however,  was  not 
strictly  exact;  and  Mahomet  deceived  himself,  if,  besides  Matthias 
Corvinus,  who,  like  his  father,  inflicted  severe  defeats  on  the  Turks, 
he  did  not  look  upon  Scanderbeg  as  an  opponent  worthy  of  him,  and 
at  least  equal  to  Hunniades. 


§  II.    MAHOMET  II  AND   SCANDERBEG.— A.  D.  1464-1467. 

SCANDERBEG,  otherwise  called  Georges  Castriot,  was  king  of  Al- 
bania, a  rough  and  mountainous  district  situated  on  the  eastern  coast 
of  the  Adriatic  sea.  In  the  beginning  of  his  reign  (A.  r.  1443),  he 
vigorously  shook  off  the  yoke  laid  by  the  Ottomans  on  his  father  and 
country,  and,  with  a  handful  of  warriors,  maintained  his  position 
against  their  innumerable  armies  during  the  space  of  twenty-four 
years. 

Amu  rat  II,  who  attacked  him  first,  soon  experienced  the  effects  of 
his  undaunted  valor;  and  having  presumed  to  besiege  Croja,  the 
capital  city  of  Albania,  met  there,  in  Scanderbeg  who  defended  it,  an. 
invincible  opponent,  no  armor  however  strong,  no  warrior  how 


4  n.  1464-1467.  MAHOMET    AND    SCANDERBEG.  341 

brave  soever,  being  able  to  resist  this  hero.  During  the  whole  siege, 
the  Turks  were  continually  harassed  by  sallies  and  skirmishes  con- 
ducted with  equal  vigor  and  ability.  Their  loss,  both  before  the  walls 
of  Croja  and  during  their  retreat,  was  so  great,  and  their  defeat  so 
signal  and  so  ignominious,  that  the  grief  of  Amurat  on  this  occasion 
is  thought  to  have  accelerated  his  death. 

The  war  continued  under  Mahomet  II,  who  contented  himself  in 
the  beginning  with  sending  many  of  his  generals  against  the  Alba- 
nians :  but  Scanderbeg  knew  so  well  how  to  avail  himself  of  his 
perfect  knowledge  of  the  country,  of  its  mountains  and  defiles,  that 
he  repeatedly  routed  the  Turks,  notwithstanding  their  superior  forces. 
On  several  of  these  occasions,  they  lost  from  twenty  to  thirty  thou- 
sand men.  At  length  (towards  the  year  1464),  the  sultan  determined 
to  go  and  avenge  in  person  so  many  defeats:  having  raised  one  of 
those  formidable  armies  with" which  he  had  so  often  visited  the  neigh- 
boring stales,  he  invaded  the  Albanian  territory  at  the  head  of  two 
hundred  thousand  men.  Scanderbeg  had  not  more  than  a  handful 
of  soldiers  with  him;  still,  the  Turks  were  again  repeatedly  defeated, 
Croja  was  once  more  saved  from  their  yoke,  and  Mahomet  was  com- 
pelled to  retire  with  disappointment  and  shame. 

The  time  was  now  come  for  Scanderbeg  to  exchange  earthly  lau- 
rels for  a  heavenly  crown,  the  reward  of  his  piety  and  of  the  valor 
which  he  displayed  in  the  defence  of  religion.  He  was  taken  dan- 
gerously ill  in  the  city  of  Lissa;  and,  aware  that  his  last  hour  was 
approaching,  he  prepared  for  it,  with  his  usual  magnanimity  and 
fortitude,  in  the  most  edifying  manner.  The  last  spark  of  life  was 
about  to  be  extinguished,  when  information  was  brought  that  fifteen 
thousand  Turks  had  re-entered  his  territory,  and  were  at  a  short  dis- 
tance; at  this  news,  he  seemed  to  recover  his  former  strength  and 
warlike  ardor,  looked  for  his  sword,  and  giving  his  orders  to  the  little 
army  which  always  accompanied  him,  waited  for  the  result  of  the 
battle,  until,  hearing  the  glad  sounds  of  victory,  he  fell  back  upon  his 
bed  and  calmly  expired,  at  the  age  of  sixty-three,  on  the  seventeenth 
of  January,  1467.  His  death  proved  an  irreparable  misfortune  for 
his  faithful  subjects,  who,  deprived  of  their  invincible  leader,  could 
no  longer  resist  the  overwhelming  forces  of  the  Ottomans.  Hence 
nothing  could  be  more  just  and  proper  than  the  deep  and  general 
affliction  caused  by  the  loss  of  this  hero;  even  his  charger  is  said  to 
have  shed  tears  over  him,  and,  by  refusing  to  take  his  food,  to  have 
died  of  grief  three  days  after  his  noble  and  justly  lamented  master. 
The  Turks  themselves,  to  whom  he  had  been  so  formidable  an. 
enemy  during  life,  were  not  the  least  zealous  in  honoring  his 
memory.  They  not  only  touched  his  coffin  with  a  kind  of  religious 
veneration,  but  having  obtained  some  parcels  of  his  bones,  had  them 
29* 


342  MODERN    HISTORY.  Part  Vi 

enshrined  in  silver  or  gold,  to  be  carried  in  battles,  as  a  sure  pledge, 
they  imagined,  of  safety  and  victory. 

There  indeed  appeared  in  Scanderbeg  something  almost  above  hu- 
man nature;  and  it  is  certain  that  very  few  generals  have  been  equal 
to  him  in  firmness  of  mind,  strength  of  body,  heroic  valor  and  bril- 
liant success.  He  gained  twenty-two  victories  over  the  Ottomans, 
whilst  they  were  in  the  height  of  their  power  and  under  the  most 
terrible  of  their  sultans ;  and  having  with  his  own  sword,  slain  about 
two  thousand  of  them  in  different  engagements,  he  was  but  once 
slightly  wounded.  Mahomet,  imagining  that  there  was  perhaps  some- 
thing marvellous  in  his  cimeter,  desired  to  see  it;  but  not  having 
found  the  famous  weapon  what  he  thought  it  to  be,  he  returned  it  with 
a  sort  of  contempt.  "I  sent  my  cimeter  to  the  sultan,"  said  the  Al- 
banian prince,  "  but  not  tlje  hand  which  knows  how  to  wield  it  in 
battle." 

Nearly  the  whole  life  of  Scanderbeg  was  a  series  of  wonderful  ac- 
tions, the  offspring  of  the  noblest  feelings.  He  not  only  displayed 
the  intrepidity  of  a  warrior,  and  the  talents  of  a  consummate  general, 
but  also  practised  the  social  and  Christian  virtues  in  a  high  degree  of 
perfection.  Most  historians  represent  him  as  the  mildest  of  men ; 
and  yet,  such  was  the  struggle  within  him,  whenever  he  met  with 
great  opposition,  that  his  lower  lip  would  split  and  bleed ;  whence 
we  may  conclude  that,  as  he  was  naturally  much  inclined  to  anger, 
his  great  mildness  must  have  been  the  effect  of  a  sublime  virtue,  and 
of  an  extraordinary  violence  which  he  offered  to  himself.  This  self 
control,  united  with  the  highest  degree  of  military  heroism,  ought  to 
excite  universal  admiration  for  Scanderbeg,  and  moreover  convince 
every  one  that  the  spirit  of  the  true  religion,  instead  of  debasing  the 
soul  and  weakening  its  energy,  as  some  impious  men  falsely  assert, 
is,  on  the  contrary,  the  source  of  the  purest  sentiments  and  noblest 
actions  of  which  man  is  capable.  Besides  the  striking  examples  of 
Scanderbeg  and  Hunniades,  another  evidence  of  this  truth  will  be 
seen  in  the  illustrious  Peter  d'Aubusson,  who  was  also  raised  up  by  the 
Almighty  as  a  rampart  to  his  people,  against  the  invading  power  of 
Mahomet. 


§  III.  MAHOMET    AND    PETER    D'AUBUSSON.— A.  D.  1476-1481. 

THE  sultan  was  incensed  against  the  Knights  Hospitallers  of  St. 
John  of  Jerusalem,  for  the  severe  losses  which  they  daily  inflicted 
on  his  commerce,  his  navy,  and  his  maritime  provinces.  The  storm 
was  now  preparing  to  burst  upon  them;  and  the  Grand- Master,  Peter 


*.  D.  1476-1481.    MAHOMET     AND     P.  D?AUBUSSOJNr.      343 

d'Aubusson,  had  scarcely  completed  his  preparations  to  oppose  a 
vigorous  resistance,  when,  in  the  spring  of  the  year  1480,  the  island 
of  Rhodes,  the  principal  residence  of  the  order,  was  attacked  by  a 
fleet  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  vessels,  and  one  hundred  thousand 
men  destined  to  fight  on  land.  That  powerful  armament  at  once  di- 
rected all  its  efforts  against  the  capital  city  of  the  island,  whose  walls 
were,  during  three  months,  battered  by  pieces  of  ordnance  similar  to 
those  which  had  destroyed  the  ramparts  of  Constantinople.  But  all 
this  proved  no  match  for  Peter  d'Aubusson  and  his  intrepid  knights; 
besides  their  cannons,  they  used  against  the  Ottoman  artillery  a  for- 
midable engine,  which  by  violently  hurling  enormous  stones  and 
fragments  of  rocks,  caused  frightful  ravages  in  the  camp  of  the  be- 
siegers. Scarcely  a  day  passed  without  an  assault  from  the  Turks 
or  a  sally  from  the  garrison ;  and  in  every  engagement  the  advantage, 
although  without  a  decisive  result,  was  on  the  side  of  the  Rhodians. 

As  the  wall,  however,  had  been,  in  many  parts,  thrown  down  by 
the  continual  firing  of  the  cannon,  the  commander  of  the  Turkish 
army,  Bashaw  Misach  Paleologus,  a  Greek  renegado,  led  his  troops 
to  a  general  assault.  He  indeed  conducted  it  with  great  ability  and 
bravery ;  but  to  his  great  disappointment,  the  defence  was  not  less 
vigorous  than  the  attack.  The  Grand-Master  displayed  on  this  oc- 
casion a  presence  of  mind,  a  magnanimity  and  courage  seldom 
equalled,  never  surpassed.  Neither  the  combined  efforts  of  twelve 
Janizaries  who  fell  desperately  upon  him  during  the  conflict,  nor  ex- 
cess of  fatigue,  nor  five  large  wounds  which  he  received,  could  in- 
duce him  to  withdraw  for  a  single  moment  from  the  perilous  post 
which  his  valor  had  selected.  So  noble  an  example  inspired  his 
knights  with  fresh  ardor;  all  seemed  transformed  into  so  many  un- 
daunted heroes,  anxious  to  save  their  magnanimous  prince,  or  to 
perish  with  him  on  the  field  of  battle.  After  a  tremendous  fight,  the 
assailants  were  repulsed  at  all  points  from  the  breach,  and  leaving 
several  thousand  slain  around  the  walls  of  the  city,  they  fled  to  their 
vessels  and  reembarked  in  terror  arid  despair. 

The  Grand-Master,  covered  with  his  own  blood  and  with  that  of 
his  enemies,  was  conveyed  to  his  palace,  where  his  wounds  were 
dressed.  He  happily  recovered  in  a  short  time;  and  as  soon  as  he 
was  able  to  walk,  repaired  to  the  church  to  give  solemn  thanks  to 
the  God  of  hosts  for  the  splendid  victory  which  he  had  gained.  His 
next  care  was  to  bestow  rewards  on  those  of  his  soldiers  and  knights 
who  had  evinced  the  greatest  courage  in  the  time  of  danger;  and,  in 
order  to  give  proper  relief  to  the  poor  inhabitants  of  the  country, 
whose  property  had  been  laid  waste  by  the  Turks,  he  maintained 
them  until  the  following  harvest,  and  relieved  them  for  many  years 
from  the  taxes  which  they  paid  before  the  invasion.  It  was  in  those 


344  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Part  VI. 


and  in  the  like  laudable  occupations  that  P.  d'Aubusson  spent  the  re- 
mainder of  his  life.  When  he  felt  himself  attacked  by  a  mortal  dis 
ease,  he  was  not  in  the  least  disturbed  at  the  sight  of  approaching 
death,  bat  encountered  it  on  the  bed  of  sickness  with  the  same  tran- 
quillity with  which  he  had  so  often  faced  it  amidst  the  greatest  perils 
of  war.  He  died  at  the  age  of  eighty,  justly  venerated  and  esteemed 
throughout  the  whole  world  as  one  of  the  most  illustrious  Grand- 
Masters  of  the  order  of  St.  John,  one  of  the  ablest  generals  of  his 
age,  the  delight  and  pattern  of  his  fellow-knights,  the  father  of  the 
poor,  the  deliverer  of  Rhodes,  the  sword  and  shield  of  Christendom, 
a  model  as  well  of  sincere  piety  as  of  intrepid  valor. 

Far  different  was  the  sultan  of  the  Turks.  This  haughty  monarch 
had  been  exasperated  by  the  disaster  of  his  army  in  the  island  of 
Rhodes,  and  in  his  fury 'he  swore  vengeance  against  the  Christians. 
The  city  of  Otranto,  on  the  shore  of  the  Adriatic,  being  already  oc- 
cupied by  his  troops,  who  had  taken  and  plundered  it  in  August 
1480,  extraordinary  preparations  were  commenced  for  fresh  inva- 
sions, and  new  calamities  threatened  Italy,  Rhodes  and  other  states, 
wheh  a  violent  disease  suddenly  put  an  end  to  both  the  life  and  the 
projects  of  the  Mussulman  Attila  (A.  D.  1481).  He  had  reigned 
thirty,  and  lived  about  fifty-two  years.  The  Turks,  on  account  of  his 
talents  and  extensive  conquests,  place  him  in  the  first  rank  of  their 
sovereigns ;  Gibbon  and  Voltaire  praise  him  as  a  magnanimous 
prince:  but  all  who  know  that  there  is  no  true  greatness  without 
virtue,  and  are  aware  of  the  many  acts  of  insatiable  ambition,  per- 
fidiousness  and  barbarity  with  which  the  whole  of  Mahomet's  life 
was  sullied,  cannot  but  consider  him  as  a  scourge  of  humanity  and 
a  very  monster.  Dissensions  which  arose  between  his  sons,  and  en- 
gaged all  their  attention,  left  the  greater  part  of  Europe  in  peace  for 
many  years. 


CONTEST  OF  THE  HOUSES  OF  LANCASTER  AND  YORK  IN 
ENGLAND.— A.  D.  1455—1485 


ENGLAND,  although  not  attacked  by  foreign  enemies,  still  continued 
in  a  state  of  considerable  agitation,  the  causes  and  progress  of  which 
will  now  be  more  fully  related.  King  Henry  VI  was  a  prince  of  virtu- 
ous disposition  and  inoffensive  character,  but  had  always  exhibited 
great  weakness  of  mind  in  his  government,  and  such  a  want  of  resolu- 
tion as  encouraged  some  of  his  relatives  to  endeavor  to  deprive  him  of 
his  crown.  At  their  head  was  Richard,  duke  of  York,  the  first 
prince  of  tiie  blood,  who,  by  his  mother,  stood  one  degree  nearer  to 


A.  D.  145^1485.  CONTEST,   ETC.  345 

the  throne  than  the  house  of  Lancaster;  he  possessed  those  talents 
which  render  the  leader  of  a  party  extremely  dangerous,  and  exer- 
cised great  influence  over  the  principal  nobility  of  England. 

Unfortunately,  at  this  time,  there  existed  great  discontent  against 
the  court,  on  account  of  the  ill  success  of  the  last  war  in  France 
for  the  recovery  of  Guienne.  The  artful  duke  was  careful  to  encour- 
age the  public  opinion,  at  first  secretly,  afterwards  more  openly,  as 
soon  as  circumstances  permitted  him  to  do  so  without  peril.  At 
length,  he  raised  troops,  for  the  purpose,  he  said,  of  reforming  the 
government,  and  boldly  taking  the  field,  defeated  the  royalists  at  St. 
Albans,  and  took  the  king  prisoner  (A.  D.  1455).  This  important 
prize,  still  more  than  the  victory  itself,  served  admirably  well  the 
ambitious  views  of  Richard,  and  enabled  him,  in  leaving  to  his  royal 
captive  the  insignia  of  royalty,  to  assume  with  impunity  the  govern- 
ment of  the  realm. 

The  battle  of  St.  Albans  was  the  first  in  that  awful  and  unnatural 
struggle,  which  armed  the  rival  houses  of  Lancasler  and  York  against 
each  other,  made  Great  Britain  one  extensive  theatre  of  atrocities,  was 
signalized  by  twelve  pitched  battles,  cost  the  lives  of  more  than  a 
hundred  thousand  men  with  eighty  princes  of  the  blood,  and  almost 
completely  annihilated  the  ancient  nobility  of  England.  It  was  pro- 
longed by  the  obstinate  valor  of  both  parties,  and  by  the  great  ability 
of  their  leaders.  Besides  Duke  Richard,  the  chief  commanders  of  the 
Yorkists  were  his  son  Edward,  whose  military  skill  was  superior 
even  to  that  of  his  father,  and,  during  a  certain  time,  the  intrepid  earl 
of  Warwick,  surnamed  the  maker  and  destroyer  of  kings.  The  real 
head  of  the  Lancastrians  was  queen  Margaret,  a  princess  of  masculine 
courage  and  wonderful  constancy,  which  she  displayed  in  the  most 
distressing  circumstances  that  can  perhaps  ever  befall  a  queen,  a  wife 
and  a  mother. 

This  fatal  and  sanguinary  contest  is  well  known  under  the  deno- 
mination of  the  two  roses,  from  the  white  rose,  the  distinctive  badge  of 
the  house  of  York,  and  the  red  rose,  that  of  the  Lancastrian  family. 
Various  were  the  alternations  of  success;  and  King  Henry  VI  fre- 
quently passed  from  the  state  of  a  sovereign  to  that  of  a  captive,  and 
again  changed  his  prison  for  the  throne.  His  partisans  seemed  to 
prevail  in  1460,  when,  being  strongly  upheld  by  the  queen,  they 
gained  at  Wakefield  a  signal  victory  against  the  duke  of  York,  who, 
with  many  of  his  followers,  lost  his  life  in  the  conflict.  But  this 
success  of  the  royal  cause  was  not  of  long  duration.  Prince  Edward 
not  only  retrieved  the  losses  and  fully  repaired  the  defeat  of  his  party, 
but  even  marched  to  London  and  caused  himself  to  be  proclaimed 
king  without  further  delay.  Returning  to  the  noithern  counties,  he 
overtook  the  Lancastrians  near  Towton,  and  completely  defeated 


346  MODERN  HISTORY.  Part VI. 

them,  after  a  most  furigus  and  obstinate  conflict,  which  cost  the  lives 
of  thirty-eight  thousand  combatants  (A.  D.  1461). 

This  battle -was  decisive  against  the  royalists.  The  unfortunate 
Henry  fled  to  Scotland  for  refuge;  but  his  queen  and  his  son  had  to 
encounter  very  strange  adventures.  On  one  occasion,  as  the  young 
prince  and  his  mother  were  crossing  a  mountainous  district,  they 
were  surprised  by  a  troop  of  banditti,  who  stripped  them  of  their 
money,  jewels  and  other  articles,  of  value.  It  is  probable  that  they 
concealed  their  quality  ;  otherwise,  such  distinguished  captives  would 
have  been  more  carefully  guarded.  The  ruffians  began  to  quarrel 
about  the  division  of  the  booty;  menaces  were  uttered,  and  swords 
drawn;  when  Margaret,  watching  her  opportunity,  grasped  her  son 
by  the  arm,  and  plunged  into  the  thickest  part  of  the  wood."  She 
had  not  proceeded  far,  when  another  robber  made  his  appearance. 
The  queen,  with  the  intrepidity  of  despair,  advanced  to  «meet  him, 
and  taking  young  Edward  by  the  hand,  "Friend,"  she  said,  "I 
intrust  to  you  the  stin  of  your  king."  These  words  so  moved  the 
robber,  that  he  took  them  both  under  his  protection,  and  conducted 
them  to  a  place  of  safety. 

How  desperate  soever  the  cause  of  the  red  rose  might  now  appear, 
the  courage  and  spirit  of  Margaret  were  not  yet  subdued.  Indefati- 
gable in  her  exertions,  she  frequently  crossed  the  sea,  in  order  to 
obtain  foreign  assistance,  and  often  re-appeared  at  the  head  of  her 
partisans  in  England.  Her  hopes  were  cheered  by  a  temporary- 
gleam  of  success,  particularly  in  the  year  1470,  when,  by  the  secession 
of  the  earl  of  Warwick  from  the  Yorkist  to  the  Lancastrian  side,  and 
by  the  sudden,  though  momentary  flight  of  King  Edward,  Henry  VI 
was  once  more  replaced  upon  the  British  throne.  But  no  later  than 
the  following  year  1471,  the  fatal  battles  of  Barnet  and  Tewkesbury 
for  ever  blasted  the  fruit  of  so  many  efforts.  The  unfortunate  mo- 
narch again  fell  into  the  hands  of  his  implacable  enemies,  was  again 
recommitted  to  the  tower,  and  shortly  after  deprived  of  life.  His 
royal  consort,  and  his  son,  then  eighteen  years  of  age,  being  now 
destitute  of  all  resources,  were  also  taken  prisoners.  The  young 
prince  was  immediately  led  to  the  conqueror's  tent;  and,  having  been 
asked  the  reason  of  his  appearance  at  the  head  of  an  army,  replied 
with  equal  boldness  and  candor:  "To  preserve  my  father's  crown 
and  my  own  inheritance."  Edward,  enraged  at  this  answer,  bru- 
tally struck  him  on  the  face  with  his  gauntlet;  and  the  assistants 
imitating  his  barbarity  despatched  him  with  their  swords.  As  to 
Margaret,  after  having  supported  to  the  end  the  cause  of  the  Lancas- 
trian family,  and  having  outlived  her  fortune,  her  friends,  her  hus- 
band and  her  son,  she  was  ransomed  for  fifty  thousand  crowns,  and 
died  in  France  a  few  years  after. 


A.  D.  1479-1492.    FERDINAND  AND  ISABELLA.  347 

Edward  IV  remained  in  the  undisturbed  possession  of  the  English 
crown:  but,  after  his  death,  which  happened  in  the  year  1483,  dis- 
sensions again  disturbed  the  peace  of  the  royal  family.  Of  his  two 
next  successors,  Edward  V,  his  son,  and  Richard  III,  his  brother,  the 
former  was  dethroned,  imprisoned  and  put  to  death  by  the  latter,  a 
faithless  and  ferocious  prince,  who  did  not  long  enjoy  the  fruit  of  his 
detestable  ambition.  Notwithstanding  all  the  precautions  of  his  artful 
and  tyrannical  policy,  a  strong  party  was  formed  in  favor  of  another 
rival,  Henry  Tudor,  earl  of  Richmond,  member  of  the  house  of  Lan- 
caster by  a  collateral  and  female  line.  A  single  battle  fought  at  Bos- 
worth  in  the  year  1485,  decided  the  important  quarrel;  Richard  lost 
his  life,  and  the  victorious  army  presently  proclaimed  his  rival  king 
of  England  under  the  name  of  Henry  VII.  The  title  of  this  prince 
was  afterwards  confirmed  by  an  act  of  parliament ;  and  his  marriage 
with  Elizabeth  the  heiress  of  the  house  of  York,  uniting  together  the 
claims  of  both  families,  put  an  end  to  the  protracted  feuds  of  the 
Plantagenets,  and  to  the  civil  war  which  had  deluged  England  with 
blood  during  the  space  of  thirty  years. 


FERDINAND  AND  ISABELLA.— FINAL  OVERTHROW  OF  THE 
MOORS  IN  SPAIN.— A.  D.  1479—1492. 


AT  this  period,  Isabella,  princess  of  Castile,  who  succeeded  her 
brother  Henry  IV  on  the  throne  in  1474,  married  Ferdinand  of  Arra- 
gon,  who  inherited  the  crown  of  his  father  Juan  II,  in  1479.  This 
marriage  permanently  cemeated  the  chief  states  of  Christian  Spain  in 
one  extensive  empire.  The  Spanish  monarchy  became  thus,  almost 
on  a  sudden,  more  respectable  and  powerful  than  it  had  been  ever 
since  the  flourishing  times  of  the  Visigoths.  This  however  was 
owing  less  perhaps  to  the  fortunate  union  of  the  two  crowns  in  one 
family,  than  to  the  uncommon  ability  and  perfect  accord  with  which 
Ferdinand  and  Isabella  governed  their  dominions.  By  vigorous 
enactments  and  still  more  vigorous  measures,  they  checked  the  tor- 
rent of  disorders  and  crimes  to  which  the  preceding  civil  wars  had 
given  rise;  destroyed  the  castles  and  fortresses  from  which  restless 
lords  issued  forth  to  infest  all  the  country  round;  revoked  the  grant 
of  gratuities,  that  exhausted  the  public  treasury ;  rescued  the  people 
from  the  oppression  of  the  nobles ;  and  subjected  the  nobles  them- 
selves to  the  control  of  the  royal  authority.  It  was  at  this  epoch 
(A.  D.  1480)  that  they  established  in  Spain  the  famous,  and,  we  may 
add,  the  so  much  and  yet  so  little  known  tribunal  of  the  Inquisition.* 

*  See  note  K. 


348  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Part  VI 


In  the  mean  time,  the  Moors  having,  notwithstanding  the  existing 
truce,  imprudently  recommenced  hostilities,  Isabella  and  Ferdinand 
conceived  the  just  and  glorious  design  of  annihilating  their  power  in 
the  peninsula.  Hitherto,  these  sworn  enemies  of  the  Christian  name 
had  maintained  themselves  in  the  southern  provinces,  and,  though 
they  had  gradually  lost  an  immense  portion  of  their  territory,  they 
still  remained  masters  of  the  flourishing  kingdom  of  Granada,  which 
contained  a  great  number  of  fortified  places  and  three  millions  of 
inhabitants.  But  the  time  had  now  come,  when,  after  a  struggle 
of  nearly  eight  centuries  against  the  Christians,  they  were  to  be 
stripped  of  their  last  possession  in  Spain.  The  two  sovereigns 
skilfully  took  advantage  of  the  imprudent  step  of  the  Mussulmans 
and  of  the  bloody  factions  which  l>egan  to  prevail-  among  their 
princes;  they  declared  war  against  them,  and  prosecuted  it  with 
vigor.  During  the  space  of  eight  years  (1482 — 1490),  the  different 
towns  and  fortresses  of  the  kingdom  of  Granada  fell  successively  into 
the  hands  of  the  Castilians,  and  there  remained,  in  1491,  only  its 
capital  to  be  subdued. 

This  was,  it  is  true,  a  very  difficult  and  perilous  attempt.  Two 
mighty  fortresses,  a  thousand  towers,  walls  of  prodigious  size,  and 
thirty  thousand  warriors  defended  that  superb  capital.  But  all  these 
obstacles  did  not  deter  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  from  pursuing  their 
favorite  plan  with  wonderful  activity  ;  and  Granada  was  invested 
by  a  gallant  army  of  fifty  thousand  men,  whom  the  presence  of  their 
sovereigns  stimulated  with  unconquerable  ardor,  patience  and  con- 
stancy. In  that  siege,  the  Spaniards  neither  made  use  of  artillery, 
nor  attempted  an  assault,  their  only  object  being  to  reduce  the  city  by 
famine,  and  repel  the  sallies  of  the  garrison.  During  six  months, 
the  spot  between  Granada  and  the  Spanish  camp  was  a  theatre  of 
almost  continual  skirmishes,  and  innumerable  exploits  were  per- 
formed by  the  knights  of  both  parties;  but  never  could  the  Moors 
bring  their  opponents  to  a  general  engagement.  Ferdinand  was  too 
prudent  to  expose  the  issue  of  an  expedition  in  which  he  was  nearly 
certain  of  success,  to  the  hazard  of  a  battle:  he  contented  himself 
with  protecting  his  troops  by  solid  entrenchments;  and  then,  to  let 
the  Moors  fully  understand  his  fixed  determination  to  conquer  Gra- 
nada, he  built,  at  the  suggestion  of  Isabella,  in  the  place  of  the  en- 
campment, a  regular  city  with  its  houses  and  streets,  under  the  name 
of  Santa  Fe,  a  name  which  it  still  retains. 

The  inhabitants  of  Granada,  and  Boabdil,  their  king,  were  driven 
to  despair,  when  they  beheld  the  unshaken  resolution  of  an  enemy 
who  spared  neither  time,  nor  expense,  nor  fatigue,  to  attain  his 
object.  The  first  pangs  of  starvation,  and  the  fear  of  still  greater  evils 
in  future,  induced  them  to  enter  into  a  negotiation  with  the  besiegers. 


A.  D.  1479  -1492.       FERDINAND  AND  ISABELLA.  349 

Having  obtained  a  truce  for  two  months,,  dunng  which  no  opportu- 
nity presented  itself  of  averting  their  impending  ruin,  they  finally 
consented,  under  the  condition  of  mild  and  honorable  treatment,  to 
surrender  into  the  hands  of  the  Castilian  sovereigns. 

Isabella  and  Ferdinand  took  possession  of  Granada  in  the  begin 
ning  of  the  year  1492,  after  having  granted  to  Boabdil  extensive 
estates  and  an  annual  income  of  fifty  thousand  ducats  in  exchange 
for  his  kingdom.  Notwithstanding  these  advantages,  the  unhappy 
monarch  could  not  leave  his  capital  without  shedding  a  flood  of  tears; 
and  when  he  gazed  at  it  for  the  last  time  from  the  summit  of  a  neigh- 
boring hill,  he  repeatedly  exclaimed  :  "  O  splendid  city !  O  Lord 
God  of  hosts!  What  misfortunes  have  ever  been  equal  to  mine!" 
Upon  which,  his  mother  ironically  said  to  him  :  "  You  do  well  to 
lament,  like  a  woman,  the  loss  of  a  kingdom  which  you  did  not 
know  how  to  defend  like  a  man."  Being  soon  disgusted  with  his 
new  situation,  he,  after  the  example  of  his  uncle  El  Zagal,  who  had 
long  contended  with  him  for  the  crown,  sold  his  estates  to  Ferdi- 
nand, and  passed  over  to  Africa,  where,  having  lived  twenty  years 
longer,  he  was  at  last  killed  in  a  battle  fought  by  the  king  of  Fez 
against  the  sovereign  of  Morocco. 

The  other  Moors,  besides  the  king  and  his  attendants,  had  also, 
with  due  proportion,  obtained  valuable  advantages  from  their  new 
sovereigns.  By  the  treaty  of  peace,  they  were  allowed  either  to  retire 
to  the  African  continent  with  their  families  and  riches,  or  to  stay  in 
the  peninsula,  with  privileges  scarcely  inferior  to  those  enjoyed  by 
the  Spaniards,  and  such  as  induced  great  numbers  to  remain. 
Unhappily,  the  course  of  time  showed  their  submission  not  to  be 
very  sincere  and  constant;  and  experience  taught  the  Spanish  go- 
vernment the  necessity  of  adopting  severer  measures  to  check  their 
present,  and  hinder  their  future  rebellions.  In  fine,  towards  the  year 
1609,  some  proofs  having  been  obtained  that  they  were  planning  a 
general  insurrection,  they  were  expelled  from  the  Spanish  territories 
by  an  edict  of  King  Philip  III,  those  only  being  excepted  who  had 
become  sincere  Christians,  and  whose  descendants  still  subsist  in  the 
southern  districts  of  Spain. 

The  wonderful  abilities  of  Isabella  and  Ferdinand  had  founded  on 
a  permanent  basis  the  greatness  of  the  Spanish  monarchy ;  by  the 
conquest  of  Granada,  it  was  raised  to  an  eminent  degree  of  splendor; 
and,  within  a  few  years,  a  variety  of  other  successful  events  gave  it 
that  mighty  preponderance,  which  it  enjoyed  in  Europe  during  this 
and  the  two  following  reigns. 
30 


350  MODERN  HISTORY. 


Fart  VL. 


REMARKS  ON  THE  DISCOVERIES  MADE  DURING  THE  SIXTH 
PERIOD  OF  MODERN  HISTORY. 


BEFORE  we  leave  this  period,  we  will  make  some  remarks  on  the 
important  discoveries  in  which  it  abounds. 

The  celebrated  Roger  Bacon,  an  Englishman,  who  flourished 
towards  the  end  of  the  thirteenth  century,  is  said  to  have  prepared 
the  way  for  the  invention  of  gun  powder;  but  the  invention  itself  is 
more  generally  ascribed  to  Schwartz,  a  German,  who  lived  at  the 
same  time,  or  shortly  after.  The  use  of  that  composition  produced 
a  material  change  in  military  tactics,  cannon  and  musketry  gradually 
taking  the  place  of  bows,  catapults,  balisters,  battering  rams,  and 
other  warlike  engines.  During  the  course  of  the  fifteenth  century, 
the  application  of  artillery  to  the  different  parts  of  warfare,  sieges, 
naval  combats,  etc.,  became  general  among  civili/ed  nations;  and  it 
is  a  remarkable  fact  that,  from  that  time,  battles  have  been  less  cruel 
and  bloody  than  they  were  during  the  foregoing  ages.* 

*  We  do  not  read  or  hear  of  any  combat  having  been,  ever  since  the  uni- 
versal adoption  of  gun-powder,  half  so  bloody  as  many  were  before,  v  g. 
the  battles  of  Ancyra  (A.  D.  1402),  Tarifa  (1340),  Murandal  (1212), 
Tours  (732),  Chalons  (451),  all  which  have  been  mentioned  in  this  his- 
tory; and,  in  more  remote  ages,  the  battles  of  Arbela  (B.  c.  331)  and  Pla- 
tea  (B.  c.  479),  said  to  have  cost  the  lives  of  nearly  three  hundred  thou- 
sand Persians ;  and  particularly  the  awful  fight  of  the  kings  of  Juda  and 
Israel,  Abia  and  Jeroboam  (B.  c.  958),  in  which,  according  to  the  unex- 
ceptionable account  of  the  sacred  writer,  there  fell,  on  the  part  of  the  Is- 
raelites alone,  five  hundred  thousand  men  slain  or  wounded  (II  Paral.  xiii, 
17) ;  whereas,  in  the  most  terrible  battles  of  latter  times,  v.  g.  Austerlitz, 
Jena,  Leipzic,  Waterloo,  the  actual  loss  of  the  vanquished  hardly  exceeded 
thirty  or  forty  thousand. 

Reason  itself,  if  we  reflect  ever  so  little,  confirms  our  assertion  concern- 
ing the  great  difference  to  be  remarked  between  recent  and  ancient  battles. 
It  is  manifest,  all  other  circumstances  being  equal,  that  armies  fighting  at  a 
distance  with  cannon  and  musketry,  are  not  exposed  to  so  shocking  a  mode 
of  spilling  blood,  nor  to  such  cruel  animosity,  nor  to  such  terrible  destruc- 
tion, as  when  fighting  hand  to  hand  with  swords,  spears  and  battle-axes 
For,  in  the  first  case,  besides  the  length  of  time  required  to  fix  the  bat- 
teries, and  the  vast  number  of  shots  which  miss  their  object,  if  either  of  the 
two  armies  begins  to  suffer  too  severely,  it  may,  generally  speaking,  avoid 

furlher  destruction,  by  retiring  beyond  the  reach  of  the  enemy's  guns 

In  the  second  case,  the  hostile  troops  being  frequently  within  the  reach  of 
the  sword,  and,  as  it  were,  mingled  together,  a  dreadful  slaughter  must  un- 
avoidably follow,  both  during  the  regular  fight,  and  also  after  it,  owing  to 
the  closeness  of  the  pursuit. 

To  these  facts  and  reflections  we  cannot  reasonably  oppose  the  frightful 
disaster  of  the  French  army  in  Russia  (A.  D.  1812),  because  it  was  the 
effect  of  a  whole  campaign,  not  of  a  single  battle,  and  of  intense  cold,  want 
of  food,  and  the  crossing  of  difficult  rivers,  more  than  of  the  Russian  can- 


REMARKS    ON    THE    DISCOVERIES,    ETC.     351 

In  1410,  painting  in  oil  was  invented  at  Bruges,  by  John  Van- 
Eyck. 

To  the  year  1417  is  referred  by  some  the  useful  invention  of 
making  paper  from  linen  rags. 

A  still  more  important  invention  was  that  of  the  art  of  printing, 
the  authors  of  which,  according  to  the  more  common  opinion  of 
learned  men,  were  Faust,  Schceffer  and  Guttemberg,  at  Mentz,  about 
tne  year  1440.*  It  was  soon  followed  by  engraving  and  etching  on 
copper. 

Towards  1470  post-horses  were  established  by  King  Louis  XL 

In  fine,  the  last  years  of  this  age  were  signalized  by  the  discovery 
of  America,  and  that  of  the  passage  of  the  cape  of  Good  Hope  to 
the  East  Indies;  two  events  of  paramount  importance,  an  account  of 
which  belongs  to  the  seventh  part  of  Modern  History. 

non.  The  only  plausible  objection  perhaps  that  can  be  made  against  our 
view  of  the  subject,  is,  that  gun-powder  being  a  powerful  means  of  destruc- 
tion added  to  those  which  already  existed,  must  consequently  be  reckoned 
a  real  and  very  great  evil — but  it  should  also  be  remarked  that  it  is  rather  a 
means  which  has  superseded  others  that  were  more  cruel,  more  bloody,  and 
more  dreadfully  murderous  both  in  public  wars  and  private  quarrels  ;  aud, 
since  there  have  always  been,  and  unfortunately  always  will  be  quarrels 
among  individuals,  and  wars  among  nations,  we  are  authorized  to  conclude 
that  the  invention  of  gun-powder,  instead  of  being  a  great  misfortune,  as  is 
commonly  imagined,  has  been,  on  the  contrary,  a  real  and  valuable  service 
rendered  to  humanity. 

*  The  first  printers  carried  their  types  about  in  bags,  and  printed  small 
pamphlets,  letters,  etc.,  in  noblemen's  houses.  The  first  entire  book  issued 
from  their  press,  was  the  Psalter  in  Latin,  printed  at  Mentz  (A.  D.  1457), 
of  which  there  are  yet  two  copies  extant,  one  in  the  imperial  library  at 
Vienna  in  Austria;  th'e  other  was  bought  by  King  Louis  XVIII  for  the  sum 
of  12,000  francs.  A  complete  edition  of  the  Bible  in  Latin,  a  copy  of 
which  was  purchased  by  the  same  king  for  20,000  francs,  came  out  in  two 
folio  vols.,  also  at  Mentz  (A.  D.  1462).  From  that  epoch,  the  progress  of 
typography  was  so  rapid,  that,  even  before  tbe  close  of  the  fifteenth  cen- 
tury, a  variety  of  editions  of  the  Bible,  and  an  incredible  number  of  other 
useful  books,  were  published  in  the  different  parts  of  Europe. 

It  is  certain  that  the  art  of  printing,  by  removing  for  ever  the  evil  of  the 
scarcity  of  books,  has  been  highly  conducive  to  the  greater  diffusion  of 
religious  truth  and  literary  instruction ;  but,  alas !  it  has  also  become  a 
powerful  vehicle  of  error,  incredulity,  sophisms,  immorality,  infamous  and 
slanderous  tales,  etc.;  so  apt  are  men  to  abuse  the  very  best  th>ngs  which 
lie  within  their  reach.  Indeed,  what  can  be  more  deplorable  than  to  see 
the  vast  number  of  irreligious,  impious,  and  scandalous  productions  of  every 
kind  and  every  size,  with  which  the  world  is  deluged  ?  However,  since 
the  abuse  of  any  good  art  or  object  does  not  detract  from  its  intrinsic  value, 
the  application  of  the  art  of 'printing  to  matters  of  this  description  cannot 
be  a  sufficient  motive  to  inveigh  against  the  art  itself,  and  we  ought  rather 
gratefully  to  consider  it  as  a  gift  of  Divine  Providence,  intended  to  be,  aa 
it  really  has  been,  one  of  the  chief  instruments  towards  completing  the  re- 
vival of  science  and  letters,  and  securing  the  triumph  of  the  true  religion 
over  error  and  infidelity. 


PART    VII. 


THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA  (A.  D.  1492),  TO  THE  TREATT  Of 
VERSAILLES  OR  PARIS,  IN  WHICH  THE  INDEPENDENCE  OF  THE  U1CI- 
TED  STATES  WAS  SOLEMNLY  AND  UNIVERSALLY  ACKNOWLEDGED 
(A.  D.  1783). 


PRELIMINARY  OBSERVATIONS  ON  AMERICA. 


IT  is  a  well  founded  opinion  that  America  was  known  to  some 
among  the  nations  of  antiquity,  particularly  the  Egyptians  and  Car- 
thaginians. Besides  the  mention  made  by  Plato,  in  his  dialogues, 
and  the  description  ascribed  to  Solon,  of  the  great  island  Atlantis, 
whose  existence  and  identity  with  the  American  continent  may  be 
called  in  question;  there  is  in  Seneca's  Medea  a  passage  showing  that 
the  ancients  had  truly  the  notion  of  an  extensive  portion  of  the  world, 
which,  though  separated  from  them  by  the  ocean,  might  be  dis- 
covered in  aftertimes.*  Above  all,  a  very  ancient  author,  who  is 
commonly  supposed  to  be  Aristotle,  expressly  affirms  that  the  Car- 
thaginians, in  one  of  their  maritime  excursions,  discovered  a  vast 
and  beautiful  land,  far  beyond  the  straits  of  Hercules  (Gibraltar) ; 
but  that  the  senate,  for  fear  of  depopulating  the  republic,  forbade 
other  ships  to  go  thither,  and  endeavored  to  suppress  the  notice  of 
the  discovery.f 

Whatever  may  be  said  on  this  point,  the  population  of  Americs 
itself  and  its  descent  from  the  inhabitants  of  the  old  world,  form  no 
longer  a  difficulty  among  learned  men,  and  are  satisfactorily  ac- 
counted for  in  many  different  ways. 

*  Venient  annis  secula  seris, 

Quibus  oceanus  vincula  rerum 

Laxet,  et  ingens  pateat  tellus, 

Tethysque  novos  detegat  orbes, 

Nee  erit  terris  ultima  Thole. — Medea,  dd.  n. 

•f  See,  on  this  interesting  subject,  Univcrs.  Hist.  vol.  xxx.  pp.  142 — 186, 
and  vol.  cxiv.  p.  5.  of  the  Introduct.  to  the  History  of  Jlmerica ; — also  BibU, 
vengee  de  Duclot,  vol.  i,  Observations  preliminaires ; — Dr.  Wiseman,  Leo 
tures  on  the  connexion  between  science  and  revealed  religion*  pp.  82 — 86. 


PRELIMINARY    OBSERVATIONS.  353 

The  first  is  that  of  a  regular  and  bold  navigation,  by  steering  either 
westward  from  the  coasts  of  Africa  through  the  Atlantic,  like  the 
Carthaginians,'  several  of  whom,  according  to  the  ancient  author  just 
quoted,  remained  in  the  fertile  and  extensive  country  which  they  had 
discovered — or  from  the  northwest  of  Europe,  through  Greenland — • 
or  from  the  eastern  shores  of  Asia,  viz.  Japan,  by  the  long  and 
almost  uninterrupted  series  of  islands  in  the  Pacific  Ocean.  This 
seems  particularly  to  have  been  the  course  followed  by  the  ancestors 
of  the  Peruvians  and  Mexicans;  for,  besides  the  wise  conjectures  of 
Hornius  in  his  work  de  Origine  Gent.  American,  and  the  solid  proofs 
adduced  by  Mr.  de  Guisgnes  in  the  Hist oi-y  of  the  Huns  and  Researches 
on  the  Chinese  navigation;  there  exists  so  striking  a  coincidence  of 
monuments,  hieroglyphic  figures,  strange  customs,  and  arbitrary 
signs  for  the  computation  of  time,  between  the  Peruvians  and  Mexi- 
cans on  one  side,  and  the  Egyptians,  Thibetans  and  Moguls  on  the 
other,  as  to  leave  no  doubt  with  regard  to  the  identical  origin  of  the 
nations  of  both  continents,  and  the  direction  taken  by  the  migratory 
colonies  in  their  passage  from  one  country  to  the  other. 

A  still  easier  means  of  communication  between  the  two  continents, 
was  to  cross,  with  boats  in  summer,  and  upon  the  ice  in  winter,  the 
narrow  strait  of  Behring,  which  separates  North  America  from  the 
north-east  of  Asia.  That  this  means  was  really  resorted  to,  must 
appear  evident  to  every  one  from  the  innumerable  marks  of  resem- 
blance in  color,  size,  constitution,  manners,  etc.,  between  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  opposite  shores  of  North  America  and  Asia.  Not  long 
since,  two  learned  travellers,  Steller  and  Kracheninnikow,  proved 
this  truth  to  a  high  degree  of  certainty  in  the  first  volume  of  the  His- 
tory of  Kamtschatka. 

In  fine,  strong  winds  and  tempests  have  been  also  justly  reckoned 
among  the  very  probable  causes  of  the  population  of  America,  par- 
ticularly of  the  eastern  parts  of  South  America.  How  often,  during 
the  course  of  ages,  may  not  ships  have  been  surprised  by  storms, 
and  driven  from  the  coasts  of  Europe  or  Africa  to  the  American 
shores'?  Nor  is  this  gratuitously  supposed;  it  seems  rather  to  rest 
on  well  authenticated  facts.  When  Alvarez  Cabral,  the  Portuguese 
admiral,  was  going  from  Portugal  to  the  East  Indies,  in  the  year 
1 500,  his  fleet  was  hurried  by  a  furious  tempest,  across  the  Atlantic, 
to  the  coasts  of  Brazil,  of  which  he  took  possession  in  the  name  of 
his  sovereign ;  so  that  the  New  World  would  have  become  known 
in  consequence  of  this  accident,  had  it  not  been  discovered  eight 
years  before  by  the  genius  of  Columbus.  In  1731,  a  boat  carrying 
six  men  was  driven  in  the  same  direction  from  the  Canary  islands 
to  the  mouth  of  the  river  Orinoco;  the  men  were  still  alive,  although 
30* 


354  MODERN    HISTORY.  Part  m 

nearly  starved.     Is  it  not  reasonable  to  believe  that  similar  causes 
may  have  occasionally  produced  similar  effects  in  preceding  ages? 

Thus  is  the  population  of  America  in  its  close  connexion  with 
the  inhabitants  of  the  old  world,  easily  and  in  many  ways  ex- 
plained. But,  like  many  ancient  nations  shortly  after  the  deluge, 
most  of  the  American  tribes  were,  at  the  time  of  their  discovery, 
totally  uncivilized,  the  only  exception  found  by  the  Europeans  being 
that  of  the  empires  of  Mexico  and  Peru ;  and  even  this  Mexican 
and  Peruvian  civilization  was,  on  several  accounts,  very  imperfect, 
nor  can  it  be  traced  farther  back  than  three  or  four  centuries.  Yet, 
they  had  preserved  the  remembrance  of  some  religious  truths,  v.  g. 
of  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  and  of  a  deluge  which  destroyed  all 
mankind,  except  one  family  who  repeopled  the  earth.  This  is  a 
new  evidence  of  the  identity  of  origin  that  links  together  all  the 
branches  of  the  human  family,  and  of  their  descent  from  one  com- 
mon stock,  as  the  Scripture  asserts  (Acts,  xvii.  26 ; — Rom.  v. 
12;  etc.) 


DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA— CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS. 
A.  D  1492—1506. 


THE  great  man  whose  life  connects  the  history  of  the  ancient 
continent  with  that  of  the  new,  Christopher  Columbus,  was  born  of 
a  wool -comber,  at  or  near  Genoa,  probably  in  1441.  From  his  child- 
hood, he  manifested  a  strong  propensity  for  voyages,  and,  as  soon  as 
he  was  able,  indulged  it  by  partaking  in  the  maritime  expeditions  of 
the  Genoese  his  countrymen.  In  this  employment,  his  natural  genius 
acquired  that  practical  knowledge  and  fertility  of  resource,  that 
undaunted  resolution  and  vigilant  self-command  for  which  he  was 
afterwards  so  remarkable.  Success  increased  his  inclination  for  a 
nautical  career,  and  existing  circumstances  gave  it  a  peculiar  direc- 
tion, which  finally  led  to  the  discovery  of  America. 

About  this  time  the  Portuguese  endeavored  to  find  out  a  passage  to 
the  East  Indies  by  coasting  along  the  shores  of  Africa.  Though  they 
advanced  but  slowly,  their  attempts  and  their  discoveries  suggested  to 
the  mind  of  Columbus  a  still  bolder  idea:  the  study  of  both  the 
ancient  and  recent  geographical  maps,  together  with  the  knowledge 
of  the  sphericity  of  the  earth,  led  him  to  believe  that,  by  steering 
directly  to  the  west,  across  the  Atlantic,  one  might  easily  reach  the 
Asiatic  continent.  This  theory  included  indeed  a  partial  mistake, 
in  as  much  as  Columbus  had  not  formed  a  correct  estimate  of  the 
size  of  our  globe,  nor  of  the  distance  of  the  eastern  extremity  of  Asia 


*.  D.  1492-1506.    DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA,  ETC.  355 

from  the  west  of  Europe;   but  the  principal  idea  was  not,  on  that 
account,  less  worthy  of  a  great  and  mighty  genius. 

A  variety  of  circumstances  concurred  to  impress  his  theory  more 
and  more  upon  his  mind.  Reeds  of  an  extraordinary  size,  and  such 
as  were  said  to  grow  only  in  India,  floated  to  the  Azore  islands  from 
the  west;  pieces  of  wood  carved  in  an  unusual  manner,  and  trees  of 
an  unknown  species  had  been  lately  found  drifting  from  the  same 
quarter;  above  all,  a  canoe,  driven  by  westerly  winds,  had  been  seen 
carrying  the  dead  bodies  of  two  men,  whose  features  differed  from 
those  of  any  known  race  of  people.  These,  and  other  facts  of  a  like 
nature,  confirmed  Columbus  in  his  belief  of  the  existence  of  undis- 
covered lands  in  the  west. 

Having  thus  formed  his  theory,  he  determined  to  carry  it  himself 
into  effect;  but  this  required  the  co-operation  of  some  princely  power, 
and  Columbus  had  the  mortification  to  see  his  proposal  of  the  noble 
undertaking  rejected,  with  more  or  less  contempt,  by  the  republic  of 
Genoa  and  by  the  court  of  Portugal,  to  which  he  successively  applied. 
Even  in  Spain,  where  he  met  with  a  reception  more  farorable  to  his 
views,  many  -years  elapsed  in  a  course  of  fruitless  negotiations  and 
repeated  disappointments,  before  obtaining  the  aid  so  earnestly  desired. 
Indeed,  having  already  despatched  his  brother  Bartholomew  to  Eng- 
land, he  himself  was  on  the  point  of  departing  from  Spain*  when,  at 
the  representations  of  some  zealous  and  influential  persons,  Isabella 
and  Ferdinand  at  length  consented  to  furnish  him  with  three  small 
vessels,  and  ninety  mariners,  who  were  joined  by  several  private 
adventurers  and  servants,  making  the  whole  number  about  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  persons.  It  was  with  the  help  of  this  weak  squad- 
ron, that  Columbus  undertook  to  brave  the  dangers  of  unknown  seas, 
in  order  to  execute  one  of  the  boldest  designs  ever  conceived. 

On  the  third  of  August  of  the  year  1492,  having,  with  his  officers 
and  crew,  prepared  himself  by  religious  exercises  for  the  hazardous 
undertaking,  he  sailed  from  the  harbor  of  Palos  in  Andalusia,  under 
the  royal  commission  which  appointed  him  admiral  of  the  new  seas, 
and  viceroy  of  the  lands  he  was  going  to  discover.  He  stopped 
for  some  weeks  at  the  Canary  islands,  to  repair  his  vessels  and 
refresh  their  crews,  and  then  steered  directly  west.  A  gentle  breeze 
blowing  from  the  east,  speedily  wafted  them  over  a  tranquil  sea;*  so 
that,  at  the  end  of  four  weeks  more,  they  had  come  two  thousand 
and  two  hundred  miles.  No  land  however  yet  appeared;  and  Co- 
lumbus had  often  to  struggle  against  the  murmurs  and  dismay  of  his 
companions,  who  loudly  insisted  on  abandoning  the  voyage.  Some 
even  carried  their  mutiny  so  far  as  to  propose  in  their  meetings  to 
throw  him  into  the  sea,  and  spread  the  report  that  he  had  fallen  over- 
board while  observing  the  stars  with  his  astronomical  instruments. 


356  MODERN    HISTORY.  Partvir. 

Columbus,  in  order  to  pacify  their  clamors,  had  to  use  consummate 
prudence;  he  assured  them  that  they  would  discover  the  land  within 
the  space  of  three  days.  That  it  was  not  distant  he  knew  from  many 
certain  signs :  e.  g.  birds  and  fish  of  such  kinds  as  never  go  far  from 
the  shore,  and  also  green  branches,  which  were  seen  near  the  vessels 
as  they  advanced.  The  three  days  had  not  elapsed,  before  land  was 
descried;  and,  a  few  hours  after,  on  the  twelfth  of  October,  the  crews 
disembarked,  to  the  very  great  surprise  of  the  harmless  natives.  The 
country  thus  discovered  was  called  by  its  inhabitants  Gwmahani,  one 
of  the  Bahama  islands. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  conceive  the  respect  which  the  Spaniards 
now  manifested  for  the  great  man  whom  they  so  lately  threatened 
with  death;  and  still  more  so,  to  describe  the  feelings  of  Columbus 
himself  at  the  sight  of  his  happy  discovery.  As  a  memorial  of  the 
termination  of  those  dangers  from  which  he  had  been  rescued,  he 
gave  the  island  the  name  of  San-Salvador,  and  took  possession  of  it 
for  the  Castilian  sovereigns.  Then  again  putting  to  sea,  he  disco- 
vered Cuba,  and  shortly  after  another  extensive  and  beautiful  island 
called  Hayti,  an  Indian  name  it  has  resumed  in  these  latter  times,  after 
having  been  successively  called  Hispaniola  and  San- Domingo.  Every 
where,  a  fertile  soil  exhibited  to  the  sight  of  the  Spaniards  produc- 
tions and  animals  unknown  in  Europe.  In  some  places,  gold  was 
so  abundant,  that  valuable  pieces  of  it  were  easily  obtained  for  little 
mirrots,  small  bells,  and  other  trifles  given  in  exchange,  the  simple 
and  artless  natives  setting  little  value  on  that  metal  so  much  prized 
by  other  nations.  Struck  with  astonishment  at  the  dress,  color  and 
arms  of  the  Spaniards,  they  took  these  new  guests  for  so  many  super- 
natural beings  descended  from  the  sky,  and  accordingly  received  them 
with  all  imaginable  kindness  and  respect.  As  Columbus  always 
supposed  that  their  country  was  the  extremity  of  Eastern  India,  he 
gave  them  the  name  of  Indians;  an  appellation  which,  notwithstand- 
ing the  subsequent  acknowledgment  of  the  mistake,  the  aborigines  ot 
the  new  world  have  hitherto  retained. 

Columbus  now  thought  of  returning  to  Spain,  that  he  might  be  th« 
first  to  impart  to  the  sovereigns  the  news  of  his  success  and  discove- 
ries. One  of  his  vessels  having  run  aground,  he  used  the  remains 
of  the  wreck,  with  the  consent  of  the  Indians,  to  build  a  fort  upon  the 
shores  of  Hayti,  and  leaving  in  it  forty  of  his  companions,  sailed  for 
Europe  in  January,  1493.  In  the  middle  of  the  ocean  the  two  re- 
maining vessels  were  assailed  by  so  furious  a  tempest,  that  Colum- 
bus, abandoning  all  hope,  wrote  a  hasty  account  of  his  voyage,  and, 
having  surrounded  the  paper  with  a  waxed  cloth,  put  the  whole  in  a 
cask,  which  he  threw  into  the  sea,  hoping  that  the  waves  might 
drive  it  to  the  land.  Happily,  this  precaution  proved  unnecessary; 


t.  D.  149a-l506.    DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA,  ETC.  357 

the  storm  abated,  and,  on  the  fifteenth  of  March,  Columbus  triumph- 
antly entered  the  harbor  of  Palos,  from  which  he  had  sailed  about 
seven  months  before. 

The  fortunate  admiral  proceeded  by  land  to  the  Spanish  court,  then 
at  Barcelona;  and,  as  a  specimen  of  his  important  discoveries,  offered 
to  Isabella  and  Ferdinand  a  variety  of  golden  ornaments  and  produc- 
tions of  the  new  world.  The  sovereigns,  in  return,  gave  him  every 
mark  of  regard  and  esteem,  and  confirmed  his  title  of  admiral  and 
viceroy.  After  their  example,  the  courtiers  and  lords  seemed  to  vie 
with  each  other  in  bestowing  upon  him  proofs  of  personal  considera- 
tion. As,  however,  there  are  never  wanting  mean  characters,  jea- 
lous of  the  reputation  of  others,  some  persons  of  this  description  once 
publicly  told  him  that,  after  all,  he  had  not  much  reason  to  glory  in 
the  discovery  of  America,  some  little  share  of  courage  and  a  fortunate 
chance  having  been  sufficient  to  bring  the  attempt  to  a  successful 
issue.  Columbus  made  no  direct  reply,  but,  taking  an  egg,  invited 
the  company  to  make  it  stand  upon  one  end.  As  no  one  could  do 
this,  he  struck  the  egg  upon  the  table,  so  as  to  break  the  end,  and 
left  it  standing  on  the  broken  part,  showing,  in  this  simple  and  plea- 
sant manner,  that  the  most  perplexing  things  may  become  the  easiest 
to  be  done  when  we  are  once  shown  the  way,  but  not  before;  and 
that  such  was  exactly  the  case  with  regard  to  the  attempt  of  going  in 
search  of  unknown  lands. 

The  tidings  of  the  great  discovery  made  by  Columbus  rapidly  spread 
throughout  Europe,  filling  every  one  with  astonishment,  and  diffu- 
sing among  nations  a  lively  spirit  for  maritime  enterprise.  The  Span- 
ish sovereigns  lost  no  time  in  taking  means  to  secure  their  new  ac- 
quisitions. A  bull  was  obtained  (rom  Pope  Alexander  VI,  granting 
them  the  investiture  of  all  the  land  that  had  been  or  might  be  dis- 
covered in  Western  India,  under  the  condition  of  planting  and  pro- 
pagating the  Catholic  faith  among  the  inhabitants.  But,  lest  the  dis- 
coveries of  the  Spaniards  should  interfere  with  those  of  the  Portu- 
guese, which  had  likewise  been  secured  by  a  papal  bull,  an  ideal  line 
was  drawn,  by  order  of  the  pope,  from  the  northern  to  the  southern 
pole,  a  hundred  degrees  west  of  the  Azores.  AH  land  discovered  to 
the  west  of  this  line  was  conceded  to  the  crown  of  Spain  ;  all  dis- 
covered in  the  opposite  direction  was  to  belong  to  Portugal.* 

In  the  mean  time,  great  exertions  were  made  in  the  Spanish  ports 
to  fit  out  a  second  expedition  upon  a  larger  scale.  It  consisted  of 
seventeen  ships,  and  about  fifteen  hundred  persons,  among  whom 
there  were  laborers  and  artisans  of  all  kinds  intended  for  the  projected 
colony,  and  twelve  clergymen  destined  to  impart  religious  instruction 

*  See  note  L. 


358  MODERN    HISTORY.  Part  ViL 

to  the  natives.  With  these,  Columbus  sailed  from  Cadiz  on  the 
twenty-fifth  of  September,  1493,  and  had  a  favorable  passage  to 
Hayti;  but  his  disappointment  was  very  great  to  find  there  neither 
ihe  fort  which  he  had  built,  nor  the  forty  men  whom  he  had  left 
for  its  defence.  During  his  absence,  their  tyrannical  and  oppressive 
conduct  provoked  the  hostility  of  the  Indian  population,  who  slew 
them  and  utterly  demolished  their  fortress. 

The  return  of  Columbus,  his  authority,  his  prudence  and  modera- 
tion, might  have  restored  tranquillity  in  the  island  ;  unfortunately  the 
excellent  views  which  he  entertained,  instead  of  being  seconded  by 
the  zeal,  were  frequently  opposed  by  the  avarice,  ambition  and  de- 
pravity of  many  ot  his  new  companions.  In  spite  of  his  measures, 
of  the  orders  of  the  sovereigns,  and  of  the  remonstrances  of  zealous 
clergymen,  the  Indians  were  cruelly  oppressed ;  and  the  number 
of  that  unfortunate  race  daily  decreased,  from  war,  starvation  and 
ill-treatment. 

Finding  himself  involved  in  difficulties,  Columbus  returned  to 
Spain  in  1495.  His  arrival  at  court  easily  dispelled  the  clouds 
which  envy  and  calumny  had  thrown  round  his  conduct  and  ad- 
ministration; but  he  now  saw  how  much  more  he  would  have  after- 
wards to  endure  from  his  enemies.  It  was  only  after  two  years  of 
fresh  disappointments  and  tedious  expectation,  that  he  succeeded  in 
obtaining  a  squadron  of  six  vessels  for  a  new  voyage.  From  various 
considerations,  he  was  induced  to  steer  more  to  the  south  than  he  had 
ever  done  before.  This  course  led  him  to  the  mouth  of  the  great 
river  Orinoco,  where  he  for  the  first  time  beheld  the  continent,  on  the 
first  of  August  (A.  D.  1498);  a  most  interesting  discovery,  of  the  im- 
portance of  which  Columbus  himself  was  little  aware  at  the  time, 
The  continual  dangers  which  he  had  to  encounter  in  those  un- 
known seas,  together  with  a  variety  of  other  incidents,  obliged  him 
to  hasten  his  return  to  Hispaniola,  where  he  hoped  to  enjoy  the  rest 
he  so  much  needed,  before  pursuing  the  great  work  of  exploring  the 
continent. 

But,  while  the  admiral  was  thus  undergoing  all  kinds  of  hardships 
for  the  service  of  Spain,  the  party  of  his  enemies  obtained  the  ascen- 
dency at  court.  Their  charges  against  his  administration  were  so 
continual,  so  artful  and  so  numerous,  that  the  Spanish  sovereigns 
thought  it  proper  to  despatch  a  commissary  to  Hispaniola,  for  the 
purpose  of  investigating  the  real  state  of  affairs.  This  commissary 
was  Francisco  de  Bobadilla,  an  intelligent,  but  at  the  same  time  a 
passionate  man.  After  his  arrival  at  San-Domingo,  he  acted  with  so 
great  a  partiality,  that,  while  he  readily  listened  to  the  accusations  of 
the  rabble  against  Columbus,  he  refused  to  hear  his  defence,  aud  even 
went  so  far  as  to  send  him  in  chains  to  Europe  (A.  D.  1500). 


A.  D.  1492-1506.   DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA^  ETC.  359 

In  Vi\e  midst  of  these  outrageous  injuries  heaped  upon  his  cha- 
racter and  person,  Columbus  displayed  surprising  magnanimity. 
When  the  vessel  on  which  he  embarked,  put  to  sea,  the  captain, 
who  was  a  man  of  feeling,  wished  to  take  off  the  fetters  of  the  un- 
fortunate admiral;  but  he  never  would  consent  to  it,  and  protested 
that  he  was  resolved  to  wear  them  until  they  should  be  removed  by 
the  express  command  of  his  sovereigns.  It  is  said  that  he  ever  after 
kept  those  chains  hanging  in  his  room,  and  gave  orders  that  they 
should  be  buried  with  him,  as  a  memorial  of  the  ingratitude  which 
the  world  returns  for  eminent  services. 

The  arrival  of  Columbus  as  a  prisoner  and  a  criminal,  caused 
throughout  Spain  a  general  burst  of  indignation  against  his  enemies. 
The  king  and  queen  disavowed  the  proceedings  of  Bobadilla,  as  con- 
trary to  his  instructions;  they  consoled  the  admiral  by  a  most  gracious 
reception,  and  promised  to  reinstate  him  in  all  his  privileges  and  dig- 
nities. This,  however,  owing  both  to  the  untimely  death  of  Isabella, 
and  to  the  procrastinating  policy  of  Ferdinand,  never  was  effected. 
After  all,  temporal  and  mercenary  considerations  had  but  little  weight 
with  Columbus;  nor  could  obstacles  abate  his  zeal  for  useful  discove- 
ries. Having  obtained,  after  some  delay,  that  a  few  vessels  should 
be  again  placed  at  his  disposal,  he  sailed  once  more  from  Cadiz,  in 
the  spring  of  1502,  accompanied  by  his  youngest  son  Fernando,  who 
afterwards  wrote  his  father's  life. 

Never  had  the  admiral  to  suffer  so  much  as  in  this  his  fourth  and 
fast  voyage;  yet  never  did  he  evince  more  wonderful  presence  of 
mind  and  greater  resources  of  genius.  This  appeared  chiefly  in  the 
following  occurrence.  After  a  long  and  perilous  cruise  on  the  bois- 
terous gulfs  near  the  isthmus  of  Panama,  the  shattered  state  of  his 
vessels  obliged  him,  on  his  return,  to  run  them  ashore  on  the  coast 
of  Jamaica,  and  to  remain  there  for  several  months.  At  first,  the 
Indians  were  eager  to  supply  the  Spaniards  with  provisions,  which 
they  exchanged  for  trifling  objects;  gradually  their  ardor  subsided, 
and  their  useful  visits  became  less  and  less  frequent.  The  scarcity 
daily  increased  in  the  little  camp;  and  all  began  to  entertain  horrible 
apprehensions  of  famine,  when  a  most  happy  idea  presented  itself 
to  the  mind  of  Columbus. 

From  his  knowledge  of  astronomy,  he  ascertained  that  there  would 
be,  in  three  days,  a  total  eclipse  of  the  moon.  He  therefore  sum- 
moned the  principal  caciques  (Indian  chieftains)  to  a  conference,  ap- 
pointing for  it  the  day  of  the  eclipse.  When  all  were  assembled,  he 
first  reproached  them,  through  his  interpreter,  with  their  inhuman  in- 
sensibility, and  threatened  them  with  the  vengeance  of  the  God  of  hea- 
ven, whom  the  Spaniards  adored:  as  a  token  of  this  impending  ven- 
geance, the  moon,  he  said,  would  refuse  its  light  to  them  on  thai 


360  MODERN     HISTORY.  Part  VI I, 

very  night.  In  fact,  the  eclipse  commenced  a  few  hours  after,  and 
struck  terror  and  dismay  into  the  hearts  of  the  Indians.  They  fell  at 
the  feet  of  Columbus,  and  entreated  him  to  ask  pardon  for  them  of 
the  God  of  heaven,  assuring  him  that  they  would  thenceforth  bring 
to  the  Spaniards  whatever  should  be  required.  He  feigned  to  yield 
with  reluctance  to  their  request,  and,  shutting  himself  up  for  some 
moments  in  his  cabin,  came  out  to  them  again,  and  said,  that,  under 
the  strict  condition  of  their  future  fidelity  to  their  promises,  he  had 
obtained  their  pardon  from  the  Almighty;  in  sign  of  which  they 
would  presently  behold  the  light  of  the  moon. 

The  admiral,  before  speaking  thus  to  them,  had  waited  for  the  op- 
portune moment  when  the  eclipse  was  about  to  terminate.  The 
moon  began  to  appear,  and  soon  recovered  all  its  brilliancy,  to  the 
inconceivable  joy  of  the  Indians,  who  were  scarcely  able,  from  ex- 
cess of  astonishment,  to  testify  their  admiration,  reverence  and  grati- 
tude for  Columbus.  They  hastened  to  propitiate  him  with  ijii'ts, 
and,  from  that  time  forward,  not  only  supplied  the  Spaniards  with 
abundance  of  provisions,  but  carefully  avoided  giving  them  the  least 
displeasure.  At  last,  two  vessels  arriving  from  Hispaniola,  delivered 
the  admiral  with  his  companions  from  this  perilous  kind  of  exile,  and 
conveyed  them  to  a  safer  place.  As  soon  as  the  state  of  his  affairs 
permitted,  he  reernbarked  for  Spain,  which,  after  a  passage  marked 
by  new  adventures,  he  reached  on  the  7th  of  November  of  the  year 
1504,  with  a  constitution  shattered  by  so  long  a  series  of  anxieties, 
hardships  and  sufferings. 

About  this  time,  Columbus  lost  his  constant  protectress,  Queen 
Isabella,  and,  with  her,  every  well  founded  hope  of  ever  being  rein- 
stated in  his  former  dignities.  It  was  in  vain  that  he  had  more  and 
more  deserved  the  gratitude  of  the  court  by  new  services  and  disco- 
veries; in  vain  too,  that  he  urged  the  execution  of  the  royal  promise; 
the  politic  Ferdinand  always  deferred,  under  various  pretences:  till 
the  admiral,  who  had  led  since  his  return  a  lingering  life,  died  at 
Valladolid,  at  the  age  of  about  sixty-five  (A.  D.  1506).  His  last  suf- 
ferings were  sanctified  by  his  usual  resignation,  his  last  moments 
devoted  to  all  the  pious  practices  of  religion,  and  his  last  words,  those 
of  the  Royal  Prophet,  Into  thy  hands,  O  Lord,  I  commend  my  spirit. — 
Psalm  xxx,  6. 

What  has  been  already  said  of  Columbus,  clearly  shows  that  he 
possessed  all  the  characteristics  of  a  truly  great  man — a  noble  soul,  a 
vast  genius  for  discovery,  and  a  surprising  sagacity  in  finding  out 
expedients  and  resources  in  the  greatest  dangers.  His  piety  was 
genuine  and  fervent;  his  heart,  benevolent  and  generous;  and  his  con- 
duct, in  unison  with  the  feelings  of  his  heart.  Instead  of  ravaging 
the  uewly  found  countries,  like  many  of  his  contemporary  discoverers. 


i.  D    14-J7-1515.       PORTUGUESE    SEWLEMENTS.  301 

who  were  intent  only  on  immediate  gain,  he  sought  to  colonize  and 
cultivate  them,  to  civilize  the  natives,  and  subject  every  thing  to  the 
control  of  law,  order  and  religion.  If  the  noble  attempt  failed,  the 
whole  history  of  this  great  man  proves  that  the  failure  cannot  be  laid 
to  his  charge. 

When  Columbus,  by  his  death,  ceased  to  excite  the  jealousy  of 
the  Spanish  court,  great  honors  were  paid  to  his  memory ;  yet,  he 
never  obtained  the  recompense  which  he  had  best  deserved,  that  of 
giving  his  name  to  the  New  World.  His  just  claims  were  defeated, 
in  this  particular,  by  Amerigo  Vespucci,  a  native  of  Florence,  who 
in  1499  visited  the  same  coast  of  Paria  which  Columbus  had  dis- 
covered in  1498,  and  publishing  a  relation  of  the  important  fact,  as 
if  he  had  first  of  all  perceived  the  continent,  caused  it  to  be  called 
•America.  But  even  admitting  the  merits  of  Vespucci,  he  cannot 
claim  the  honor  of  the  discovery ;  to  him  alone  it  belongs,  who  was 
the  first  to  conceive,  mature  and  execute  the  bold  design  of  crossing 
an  unknown  ocean  in  search  of  a  New  World. 


PORTUGUESE  SETTLEMENTS  IN  ASIA.— A.  D.  1497—1515. 


NUMEROUS  expeditions  followed  the  enterprise  of  Columbus.  Most 
of  them  started  from  the  harbors  of  Spain,  and  were  conducted  by 
Spanish  adventurers  eager  to  enrich  or  distinguish  themselves  by  new 
and  important  discoveries;  but  others  were  also  undertaken  by  foreign 
nations.  About  the  same  time  that  Columbus  and  Vespucci  descried 
Terra  Firma  in  the  south,  the  celebrated  navigator,  Sebastian  Cabot, 
sailing  in  the  service  of  Henry  VII,  king  of  England,  discovered  and 
explored  the  coasts  of  the  northern  continent  of  America.  Not  long 
after,  Canada  and  the  river  St.  Lawrence  were  visited  by  James  Car- 
tier  and  other  French  seamen  ;  but  the  Portuguese,  by  following  a 
different  direction,  did  something  still  more  remarkable.  In  1497, 
Vasco  de  Gama,  sent  by  Don  Emmanuel,  king  of  Portugal,  suc- 
ceeded in  doubling  the  cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  after  a  voyage  of 
thirteen  months  arrived  at  the  fertile  shores  of  East  India.  During 
the  ensuing  years,  the  Portuguese  made,  throughout  that  extensive 
country,  acquisitions  and  settlements  nearly  equal  in  value  to  those 
of  the  Spaniards  in  the  New  World. 

The  East  Indies  had  always  held  a  conspicuous  rank  among  the 
states  of  the  Asiatic  continent,  and  had  been  looked  upon,  from  the 
time  of  the  ancient  Assyrians,  Persians  and  Greeks,  as  an  important 
and  enviable  country.  At  later  periods,  India  witnessed  frequent  re- 
volutions, and  was  exposed  to  frightful  calamities  from  the  incursions 
31 


362  MODERN    HISTORY.  Parf  VIL 

of  the  Saracen,  Tartar  and  Mogul  conquerors.  Towards  the  epoch 
which  now  occupies  our  attention,  and  during  the  two  following 
centuries,  it  comprised  many  independent  states,  the  most  powerful 
of  which,  and  probably  the  most  opulent  in  the  world,  was  the 
empire  of  Hindostan,  abounding  in  pearls,  gold  and  silver,  and 
enriched  both  by  its  commerce  and  the  productions  of  the  soil. 

Greater  resistance  was  made  by  the  Indians  of  Asia  than  by  those 
of  America  to  their  European  aggressors.  It  was  only  after  many 
toils  and  hardships,  after  many  struggles,  battles  and  persever- 
ing efforts  under  the  command  of  intrepid  leaders,  Gama,  Cabral, 
Pacheco,  and  Albuquerque,  that  the  Portuguese  were  enabled  to 
establish  settlements  all  along  the  Indian  coast,  at  Goa,  Cochin, 
Malacca,  etc.,  and  in  various  islands  of  the  Southern  ocean.  Nor 
was  their  power  throughout  these  countries  of  long  duration,  moi:t 
of  their  Asiatic  possessions  being  soon  wrested  from  them  by  tlitr 
Dutch  and  English,  during  the  course  of  the  seventeenth  century. 

The  Portuguese  had  also  extended  their  commercial  relations  to  the 
eastern  extremities  of  Asia,  as  far  as  China  and  Japan.  These  coun- 
tries, although  hitherto  little  known  to  the  nations  of  Europe,  were 
ancient  and  flourishing  empires.  The  Chinese,  particularly,  claim  a 
very  high  antiquity,  their  nation  having  been  founded  about  two 
thousand  ye^rs  before  the  coming  of  our  Lord,  and  governed,  since 
that  remote  period,  by  two  hundred  and  forty  emperors,  of  twenty- 
two  different  families.  Still  their  history,  with  respect  to  the  ages 
preceding  the  epoch  of  their  great  legislator  Confucius  (towards  the 
year  500  B.  c.),  is  involved  in  obscurity. 

China  is  the  most  populous  empire  in  the  world,  containing  nearly 
three  hundred  millions  of  inhabitants,  and  several  cities,  if  not  supe- 
rior, at  least  equal  in  extent  to  the  largest  among  the  European  and 
American  cities.  The  established  religion  is  a  mixture  of  theism  and 
idolatry;  there  are  also  Mahometans  and  Jews,  though  in  small 
numbers.  In  the  seventeenth  century,  Christianity  obtained  nurnrr- 
ous  proselytes  among  the  Chinese,  under  their  celebrated  emperor 
Kang-hi;  but  since  that  time,  the  Christians  have  been  always 
harassed  and  persecuted  with  more  or  less  rigor. 

The  northern  frontier  of  this  extensive  region  is  protected  by  a  wall 
twenty-four  feet  high,  thirty  or  forty  feet  thick,  and  fifteen  hundred 
miles  long,  crossing  not  only  valleys  and  mountains,  but  even  rivers, 
over  which  it  passes  in  the  form  of  bridges.  Its  gates  and  towers 
are  almost  every  where  of  a  colossal  size,  and  defended  by  numerous 
troops.  It  was  built  two  thousand  years  ago,  as  a  defence  against 
the  Tartars,  whom  it  did  not  however  prevent  from  twice  invading 
and  subduing  China,  first  under  Genghis-Kan  and  his  sons,  and 
in  the  seventeenth  century. 


*.  D.  1437-1515.     PORTUGUESE  SETTLEMENTS.  363 

The  Chinese  are  generally  witty  and  polite,  intelligent  and  indus- 
trious, but  only  to  a  certain  degree;  and  they  are  vain-glorious,  self- 
conceited,  and  excessively  prepossessed  in  favor  of  their  nation. 
Although  great  lovers  of  architecture,  mechanics,  painting,  astro- 
nomy, natural  philosophy,  etc.,  they  advance  but  little  in  these  various 
departments  of  the  arts  and  sciences.  They  could  not  conceal  their 
surprise  and  jealousy,  when  the  Jesuit  missionaries  appeared  two 
hundred  years  ago  in  China,  at  seeing  those  foreigners  much  more 
versed  than  themselves  in  all  the  branches  of  mathematics  and  natural 
history.  Even  the  knowledge  and  use  of  the  mariner's  compass,  of 
printing,  of  gun-powder  and  artillery,  which  they  seem  to  have  pos- 
sessed before  our  European  ancestors,  have  always  been  among  them 
in  a  state  of  comparative  imperfection.  Their  armies,  how  numerous 
soever,  scarcely  deserve  the  name  of  a  military  force,  and  their  vessels 
that  of  a  navy;  whilst,  in  point  of  morality,  their  inhuman  treatment 
of  infants,  their  want  of  uprightness  towards  foreigners,  their  pride, 
and  other  vices,  place  them  far  below  most  other  nations. 

Japan  is  likewise  a  civilized  and  mighty  empire,  consisting  of 
many  islands,  not  far  from  the  eastern  part  of  Asia.  The  revenue 
and*  forces  of  the  empire  are  immense,  the  former  being,  it  is  said, 
nearly  two  hundred  millions  of  dollars,  the  latter  amounting,  if  re- 
quired, to  four  hundred  thousand  infantry  and  sixty  thousand  cavalry. 
The  government  is  absolute  and  despotic;  very  little  otherwise  is 
known  of  this  nation,  owing  to  the  jealousy  with  which  foreigners 
are  excluded. 

Towards  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  centu/y,  St.  Francis  Xavier  and 
other  zealous  missionaries  preached  the  gospel  in  Japan  with  such 
wonderful  success,  that,  half  a  century  later  (in  1605),  it  contained 
no  less  than  eighteen  hundred  thousand  Christians.  Unfortunately, 
at  that  time,  powerful  and  profligate  princes  undertook  to  destroy  this 
illustrious  portion  of  the  Church,  and  succeeded  in  the  impious  at- 
tempt. A  dreadful  persecution  arose,  which  shed  torrents  of  Chris- 
tian blood  in  various  provinces  of  the  empire ;  nor  did  it  cease  until 
there  remained  no  more  victims  to  be  immolated  by  the  sword  of  the 
persecutors.  From  that  epoch,  the  avenues  of  Japan  have  been 
closed  against  foreigners,  and  the  Dutch  are  the  only  Europeans 
admitted  into  one  of  its  harbors  for  the  purposes  of  trade. 


\ 


\ 


364  MODERN   HISTORY.  Part  VII 


DECLINE  OF  THE  ITALIAN  REPUBLICS,— WARS  FOR  THE 
POSSESSION  OF  ITALY.  — CARDINAL  XIMEJNES.  — POPE 
LEO  X.— A.  D.  1494—1517. 


THE  discovery  of  America  and  of  the  passage  of  the  cape  of  Good 
Hope,  whilst  it  proved  of  the  greatest  advantage  to  Spain  and  Por- 
tugal, naturally  occasioned  the  decline  of  the  Italian  republics.  Up 
to  this  period,  foreign  commerce  had  been  mostly  in  the  hands  of  the 
Venetians,  Genoese,  and  other  maritime  nations  of  Italy,  who,  from 
the  shores  of  the  Adriatic  and  Mediterranean  seas,  communicated 
with  the  Red  sea  through  the  Isthmus  of  Suez,  anJ  thus  could  carry 
on  trade  with  all  the  nations  of  the  East.  The  two  great  events  just 
mentioned  gave  a  new  direction  to  the  ideas,  projects  and  commerce 
of  the  European  nations;  and  Venice,  with  the  other  commercial 
states  of  the  peninsula,  saw  her  traffic  decline  in  proportion  as  Portu- 
gal and  Spain  increased  in  wealth  and  power. 

Another  and  a  still  heavier  calamity  that  afflicted  Italy  at  this 
period,  was  the  almost  uninterrupted  series  of  bloody  wars  in  which 
it  was  involved  during  a  great  number  of  years.  The  first  occasion 
of  these  calamities  was  the  envied  possession  of  the  kingdom  of 
Naples.  Since  1443,  it  had  been  under  the  princes  of  the  house 
of  Arragon;  but  the  French  monarchs  looked  with  a  jealous  eye  at 
that  beautiful  country,  which  had  once  belonged  to  princes  of  their 
family.  King  Charles  VJII,  the  successor  of  Louis  XI  whose  whole 
reign  had  been  spent  in  endeavoring  to  weaken  the  power  of  the  great 
vassals  of  the  crown,  undertook  to  reconquer  Naples  in  1494.  He 
executed  his  design  in  the  beginning  of  the  following  year,  but  soon 
lost  all  his  conquests.  The  Italian  princes  had  now  united  against 
him,  and,  although  he  gloriously  repelled  them  in  the  battle  of  For- 
novo,  the  only  advantage  he  derived  from  this  victory  was  to  save 
the  remains  of  his  army,  and  return  without  further  obstacle  to 
France. 

A  second  expedition  for  the  same  purpose  took  place  in  1503, 
under  Louis  XII,  successor  of  Charles  VIII.  It  was  attended  wiih 
similar  circumstances  and  exactly  the  same  result  as  the  first:  great 
success  in  the  beginning,  followed  by  great  disasters  in  the  end ;  at 
first,  repeated  advantages  obtained  over  the  Neapolitan  army  by  the 
French  troops,  and  afterwards  their  own  signal  defeats  at  Cerignola, 
Garigliano,  etc.,  by  the  Spanish  commander,  Gonzales  of  Cordova, 
surnamed  the  great  general.  A  treaty  almost  entirely  to  the  advan- 
tage of  Spain,  was  then  concluded  between  the  rival  powers,  and 
terminated  these  contests  for  the  kingdom  of  Naples. 


A.  D.  1*«4-1517.  DECLINED    ETC.  365 

But  there  were  not  wanting  other  motives  or  pretences  for  renew- 
ing the  war.  In  1508,  a  powerful  league  was  formed  at  Cambray 
between  the  emperor  of  Germany,  the  kings  of  France  and  Arragon, 
and  some  other  sovereigns,  against  the  republic  of  Venice,  whose 
pretensions  and  conquests  had  provoked  their  anger,,  or  awakened 
their  jealousy.  None  of  the  confederates  acted  with  as  much  vigor 
as  Louis  XII,  and  none  derived  less  advantage  from  the  defeat  of  the 
Venetians.  His  very  exploits  and  his  brilliant  victory  at  Agnadel 
(A.  D.  1509),  having  soon  rendered  him  an  object  of  alarm  to  the 
other  princes,  the  league  turned  against  him;  and  the  French,  not- 
withstanding their  new  and  bloody  victory  at  Ravenna,  where  they 
lost  their  young  heroic  leader,  the  duke  of  Nemours  (A.  D.  1512),  were 
again  expelled  from  Italy. 

France  itself  was  invaded,  on  one  side  by  the  Swiss,  who,  having 
conquered  the  duke  of  La  Tremoille,  at  Novara,  advanced  into  Bur- 
gundy as  far  as  Dijon;  on  the  other,  by  the  emperor  Maximilian  and 
Henry  VIII,  king  of  England,  whose  combined  armies  gained  the 
battle  of  Guingamp,  also  called  the  battle  cf  Spurs,  because  in  it  the 
French  cavalry  used  their  spurs  more  than  their  weapons.  In  fine, 
the  king  of  Scotland,  James  IV,  an  ally  of  France,  was  also  defeated 
by  the  English  at  Flodden-nVld,  where  he  lost  his  life  in  the  conflict 
(A.  D.  1513).  The  conquerors  however  made  but  little  progress,  and 
Louis  happily  succeeded  in  making  the,m  consent  to  a  truce,  which 
afforded  him  some  respite.  He  died  at  this  juncture,  without  male 
issue,  and  was  succeeded  on  the  throne  by  his  cousin,  the  earl  of 
Angouleme,  who  took  the  name  of  Francis  I. 

This  new  monarch,  being  in  the  flower  of  his  age,  resolved  to 
conduct  the  war  with  fresh  vigor.  He  therefore  crossed  the  Alps  at 
the  head  of  a  gallant  army,  and  pressed  forward  till  he  was  attacked 
by  the  Swiss  near  Marignan,  on  the  13th  of  September,  1515.  These 
brave  highlanders  had  neither  cavalry  nor  artillery,  and  yet  fought 
with  the  most  undaunted  courage.  Notwithstanding  the  dreadful 
havoc  which  the  cannon  made  among  them,  they  repeatedly  renewed 
the  charge,  and  several  times  were  on  the  point  of  breaking  through 
the  French  line.  It  was  only  after  a  furious  engagement  of  two  days, 
and  the  slaughter  of  several  thousands  of  them,  that  the  survivors 
retired  from  the  field.  A  French  general,  the  marshal  of  Trivulce, 
who  had  been  present  at  seventeen  other  battles,  said  that  none  of 
them,  for  the  obstinate  valor  displayed  on  both  sides,  could  be  com- 
pared with  that  of  Marignan.  He  consequently  called  it  the  battle 
of  giants,  under  which  name  it  is  also  known  in  history. 

Francis  I  evinced  on  that  trying  occasion  a  rare  intrepidity.  He 
met  in  person  the  most  vigorous  charges  made  by  the  Swiss,  without 
ever  losing,  in  so  long  a  conflict,  his  presence  of  mind,  and  his  confi- 
31* 


366  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Part  vi  1 


dence  of  success.  At  last,  the  timely  arrival  of  the  Venetians,  hij 
allies,  under  the  command  of  their  celebrated  general  Alviano,  entirely 
turned  the  day  in  his  favor. 

Great  were  the  i'ruits  of  this  splendid  victory  for  France.  Some  of 
her  opponents  presently  desisted  from  further  hostilities;  and  the 
Swiss  in  particular  acceded  to  a  treaty  of  reconciliation  with  such 
willingness  and  sincerity,  as  to  become,  from  that  time,  her  most 
faithful  ally.  King  Ferdinand  still  endeavored,  it  is  true,  to  protract 
the  war;  but,  exhausted  by  mental  fatigues  and  bodily  infirmities,  he 
died  in  the  following  year  (1516),  after  an  almost  uninterrupted  ca- 
reer of  glory,  tarnished,  however,  on  some  occasions,  by  a  want  of 
gratitude  towards  useful  men,  and  of  fidelity  to  his  promises.  In 
royal  qualities  and  political  achievements  he  had  certainly  no  equal 
among  the  sovereigns  of  his  age,  if  we  except  his  heroic  and  vir- 
tuous consort  Isabella,  who  moreover  surpassed  him  in  pure,  noble 
and  delicate  feelings. 

The  chief  personages  who  contributed  most  efficaciously  with 
Ferdinand  and  Isabella  to  the  glory  of  their  reign,  were  beyond  doubt 
Christopher  Columbus,  Gonzaies  of  Cordova,  both  already  noticed 
in  the  foregoing  pages,  and  Cardinal  Ximeues,  archbishop  of  Toledo, 
the  ablest  politician,  the  most  zealous  minister  of  state,  the  most 
penetrating  genius,  in  a  woid,  all  things  taken  into  consideration,  the 
greatest  man  that  ever  Spain  produced.  Immense  and  innumerable 
were  the  services  which  he  rendered  to  the  Church,  to  the  state,  to 
his  sovereigns  and  to  the  people,  during  the  twenty-two  years  of  his 
episcopal  and  civil  administration  (1495 — 1517).  Magnificent,  great, 
generous,  the  constant  protector  of  merit,  virtue  and  innocence,  he 
conceived  and  executed  projects  the  best  calculated  to  advance  the 
cause  of  religion,  humanity  and  learning.  To  him  the  Spanish  na- 
tion was  indebted  for  several  of  her  best  and  most  useful  establish- 
ments, and  the  literary  world  for  the  publication  of  the  first  Polyglot 
Bible,*  which  he,  with  incredible  care  and  expense,  caused  to  be 
printed  at  Alcala,  in  six  folio  volumes  (A.  D.  1515). 

From  this  epoch  we  may  date  the  complete  revival  of  literature  and 
of  the  arts  and  sciences.  The  French  king,  Francis  I,  distinguished 
himself  in  this  respect  by  his  patronage  of  learning  and  of  learned 
men.  But  no  one  favored  their  cause  and  promoted  their  success, 
with  greater  zeal  than  Pope  Leo  X,  whose  name  has  in  consequence 
been  adopted  to  designate  the  first  part  of  the  sixteenth  century  con' 
sidered  as  a  literary  age.  Endowed  with  the  most  exquisite  taste,  he 
imparted  to  all  around  him  that  relish  for  the  fine  arts,  for  true  elo- 

*  Or,  Bible  in  several  languages. — There  exist  three  other  celebrated  Poly- 
glots: that  of  Antwerp,  A.  D.  1572 ;— of  Paris,  1645;— and  of  London.  1658 


..  D.  1517-1529.  LUTHER,    ETC.  367 

quence  and  poetry,  which  is  the  usual  forerunner  of  masterly  produc- 
tions Scholars  and  artists,  roused  to  uncommon  exertions  by  his 
signal  protection  and  encouragement,  frequently  vied  with  the  most 
elevated  geniuses  of  antiquity,  and  Italy  again  beheld,  as  in  the  time 
of  the  CaBsars,  a  multitude  of  her  children,  Raphael,  Michael  Angelo, 
Ariosto,  Tasso,  Vida,  Bembo,  Sadolet,  etc.,  astonishing  the  world, 
some  by  their  masterpieces  of  painting  and  architecture,  others  by 
their  beautiful  poems  and  various  kinds  of  writing,  which  we  still 
admire,  both  for  their  delicacy  and  for  their  pure  and  elegant  style.* 


LUTHER  AND  THE  REFORMATION.— A.  D.  1517—1529. 

AT  the  termination  of  the  wars  of  Italy  in  1516,  there  was  a  pros 
pect  of  a  general  and  lasting  peace  among  Christian  nations,  when 
unforeseen  events  unexpectedly  excited  anew  all  the  human  passions, 
and  carried  to  a  still  higher  pitch,  the  disturbances  of  Europe.  The 
chief  and  first  cause  of  these  fresh  commotions,  was  the  religious 
revolution  effected  by  Luther  in  Germany. 

Martin  Luther  was  born  in  1483,  at  Eisleben,  a  small  town  of 
Saxony.  After  having  studied  with  great  success  in  the  Latin  schools 
of  Magdeburg  and  Eisenach,  he  completed  his  education  in  the  uni- 
versity of  Erfurt.  In  the  year  1505,  he  took  the  degree  of  Master  of 
Arts,  which  authorized  him  to  deliver  lectures  on  Physics  and  the 
Ethics  of  Aristotle.  But  in  consequence  of  an  extraordinary  eventf 
which  happened  to  him  about  this  time,  and  produced  a  deep  impres- 
sion upon  his  mind,  he  formed  the  design  of  becoming  a  religious, 
and  accordingly  joined  the  order  of  the  Augustinians  at  Erfurt. 

The  life  of  the  young  monk  (he  was  then  twenty-five  years  of 
age)  appeared  regular,  and  in  many  respects  edifying.  He  mani- 
fested however,  in  several  instances,  particularly  when  he  was  op- 
posed or  corrected,  a  warm  and  irritable  disposition.  His  talents  and 
learning  caused  his  superiors  to  recommend  him  to  the  elector  of 
Saxony,  as  a  professor  of  divinity  in  the  newly  erected  university  of 
Witternberg;  and  when  he  afterwards  began  to  preach,  the  vehemence 
of  his  discourses,  the  boldness  of  his  eloquence,  and  a  nervous  kind 
of  expression  added  to  a  copious  flow  of  words  in  his  mother-tongue, 
soon  acquired  for  him  the  reputation  of  a  good  preacher. 

In  the  year  1517,  Pope  Leo  X  having  solemnly  published  indul- 
gences to  be  gained  by  those  who,  being  truly  repentant  for  their 

*  See  note  M. 

f  The  death  of  one  of  his  companions,  who  was  killed  by  a  thunderbolt 
at  his  side,  when  they  were  walking  together. 


308  MODERN    HISTORY.  Parl  vn 

sins,  should  contribute  by  their  pious  offerings,  to  the  rebuilding  of 
St.  Peter's  church  in  Rome,  and  to  the  expenses  of  an  intended  cru- 
sade against  the  Turks,  the  Augustinians  could  not  see  without  some 
jealousy,  the  publication  of  these  indulgences  intrusted  by  the  arch- 
bishop of  Mentz,  not  to  them,  as  had  been  usual,  but  to  the  Domini- 
can order;  and  as  it  was  reported,  on  the  other  hand,  that  great  abuses 
existed  in  the  publication  and  distribution  of  these  indulgences  by  the 
Dominicans,  Luther  was  commissioned  by  his  superiors  to  preach 
and  write  against  these  abuses.  This  commission  he  fulfilled  wiih 
a  great  deal  of  warmth;  but  he  did  not  stop  there.  In  the  heat  of 
the  dispute,  he  passed  insensibly  from  abuses  which  the  whole  Church 
condemned  with  him,  to  the  things  abused,  and  soon  began  to  attack 
the  indulgences  themselves;  and  to  maintain  his  first  position,  he 
was  gradually  led  to  deny  also  the  efficacy  of  the  sacraments,  the 
invocation  of  the  saints,  the  sacrifice  of  the  mass,  and  many  other 
tenets  universally  admitted  in  the  Church. 

This  bold  step  produced  the  greatest  excitement  all  over  the  Chris- 
tian world :  Luther  himself  was  at  first  terrified  at  it.  When  he 
began  the  dispute,  it  was  not  his  intention  to  carry  it  so  far,  still  less 
to  come  to  an  open  rupture.  He  had  even  expressed  his  perfect  sub- 
mission to  the  Roman  Pontiff  in  a  letter  which  he  wrote  to  Leo  X, 
and  which  he  concluded  with  these  remarkable  words:  "Therefore, 
most  holy  father,  prostrate  at  the  feet  of  your  Holiness,  I  place  my- 
self at  your  disposal,  with  all  that  I  am  and  all  that  I  have.  Vivify, 
kill,  call,  recall,  approve,  disapprove,  as  you  please;  in  your  voice  I 
will  acknowledge  the  voice  of  Christ,  who  presides  and  speaks  in 
you."  But  having  in  the  interval  gained  over  a  strong  party,  he  no 
sooner  saw  his  condemnation  pronounced  in  the  papal  bull  of  the 
fifteenth  of  June  (A.  D.  1520),  than,  yielding  to  his  resentment,  he 
suddenly  broke  asunder  all  the  ties  by  which  he  still  adhered  to  the 
Roman  See,  openly  separated  from  it,  and  the  better  to  seal  his 
separation,  he  publicly  burnt  the  bull  in  which  his  opinions  had  been 
condemned,  together  with  the  decretals  of  the  popes  and  the  writings 
of  Eckius  his  principal  adversary,  in  the  presence  of  the  professors 
and  the  students  of  the  university,  and  an  immense  concourse  of  tl,e 
'inhabitants  of  Wittemberg. 

The  die  was  cast;  Luther  continued  to  vent  his  anger  by  calling  the 
pope  anti-christ,  the  man  of  sin,  the  minister  of  Satan,  and  enemy 
of  all  good  :  he  used  similar  expressions,  not  only  against  the  king 
of  England,  Henry  VIII,  who  had  written  a  book  in  refutation  of  his 
tenets,  but  also  against  the  various  universities  and  Catholic  doctors, 
by  whom  his  doctrine  had  been  unanimously  rejected.  The  vehe- 
mence of  his  discourses,  his  exhortations  to  shake  off  the  yoke  of 
eac/amental  confession,  of  penitential  works,  of  religious  celibacy, 


A.  D.  1519-1529     CHARLES  V  AND  FRANCIS  I.  3Gl) 

and  his  suggestions  to  seize  upon  ecclesiastical  property,  vastly- 
increased  the  number  of  his  followers.  No  later  than  the  year  1523, 
the  doctrines  and  practices  of  the  reformation  were  introduced  into 
Denmark,  Sweden,  and  many  other  countries  of  the  north  of  Europe; 
whilst,  on  the  other  hand,  Zuinglius,  and,  shortly  after,  Calvin, 
endeavored  to  effect  similar  or  even  greater  changes  in  Switzerland 
and  France,  where  they  met  however  with  more  opposition  and  less 
success. 

In  1529,  an  imperial  decree  was  issued  at  Spire  for  the  purpose  of 
checking  the  progress  of  religious  dissensions,  and  restoring  the  unity 
of  faith  in  Germany  ;  but  it  had  very  little  effect.  The  partisans  of 
Luther  protested  against  it,  whence  came  their  name  of  Protestants; 
they  moreover  appealed  to  the  sword  in  support  of  their  pretensions, 
and  commenced  a  civil  war  which  disturbed  nearly  the  whole  reign 
of  the  emperor  Charles  V.  These  measures  were  adopted  by  them 
the  more  willingly,  as  Luther  himself  had  declared  that  it  was  lawful, 
and  even  necessary,  to  take  up  arms  in  order  to  defend  and  propagate 
the  reformation! 

Thus  was  completed  a  revolution,  which  split  the  great  Christian 
family  in  Europe  into  many  separate  and  opposite  communities.  Its 
chief  promoter  lived  long  enough  to  see  not  only  the  rise  of  the  other 
branches  of  the  reformation,  but  also  the  subdivision  of  his  own  estar> 
lishment  into  a  multitude  of  parties.  He  died  in  1546.  During  the 
same  year,  his  various  tenets,  together  with  those  of  Zuinglius  and 
Calvin,  began  to  be  discussed  and  subjected  to  the  usual  form  of 
Ecclesiastical  condemnation  in  the  council  of  ^Trent,  the  last  of  the 
general  councils,  first  convened  in  the  end  of  1545,  and,  after  two 
interruptions,  finally  closed  in  1563., 


CHARLES  V  AND  FRANCIS  I.— A.  D.  1519—1529. 


ANOTHER  cause  of  the  disturbances  and  evils  which  afflicted 
Europe  at  this  unfortunate  period,  was  the  obstinate  jealousy  of  two 
rival  and  powerful  sovereigns.  The  imperial  throne  of  Germany, 
left  vacant  by  the  death  of  Maximilian  I  in  1519,  had  been  simulta- 
neously claimed  by  Francis  I,  king  of  France,  and  Charles,  archduke 
of  Austria,  who  had  lately  succeeded  his  grand-father  Ferdinand  on 
the  throne  of  Spain.  The  former  indeed  was  a  brave  and  generous 
prince,  but  the  latter  possessed  more  prudence  and  skill,  and,  being- 
moreover  of  German  extraction,  he  was  easily  preferred  to  his  com- 
petitor. He  received  the  imperial  crown  at  Aix-la-Chapelle,  on  the 
twenty-third  of  October  (A.  D.  1520). 


370  MODERN    HISTORY.  Pan  VI L 

Francis  could  not,  without  deep  sorrow,  see  his  hopes  disap- 
pointed; and,  imagining  himself  injured,  availed  himself  of  his  other 
pretensions  with  regard  to  the  kingdoms  of  Navarre  and  Naples,  to 
commence  hostilities.  During  the  first  campaigns,  success  was 
almost  equally  divided  between  the  two  parties,  till  the  high-constable 
de  Bourbon,  dissatisfied  with  the  French  court,  and  basely  abandon- 
ing the  cause  of  his  sovereign  and  country,  went  to  offer  his  services 
to  the  emperor.  Immediately  after,  the  French  lost  all  their  posses- 
sions in  Italy,  together  with  the  brightest  ornament  of  their  chivalry, 
the  illustrious  Bayard,  surnamed  the  knight  witJumt  fear  and  without 
reproach. 

Francis  now  resolved,  in  order  to  repair  his  losses,  to  take  upon 
himself  the  conduct  of  the  war.  He  crossed  the  Alps  at  the  head  of 
a  fresh  army,  and  marched  as  far  aa^avia  which  he  besieged,  the 
imperial  troops  under  the  command  of  deTBourboTi,  hastening  at  the 
same  time  to  the  relief  of  the  garrison.  At  their  approach,  Francis 
was  advised  by  his  ablest  officers  rather  to  abandon  the  siege,  than 
expose  his  wearied  soldiers  to  an  attack  from  superior  forces;  but  his 
mind,  too  much  attached  to  the  point  of  honor,  could  not  brook  the 
idea  of  retreating  before  the  enemy :  he  therefore  determined  to  abide 
the  issue  of  a  battle. 

It  seemed,  in  the  beginning,  that  victory  would  declare  for  the 
French.  Their  well-conducted  artillery  mowed  down  whole  ranks 
of  their  opponents,  when,  on  a  sudden,  the  imprudent  valor  of  the 
king  destroyed  his  prospect  of  success.  Anxious  to  fight  with  the 
sword,  he  rushed  forward,  and  most  indiscreetly  placed  himself  be- 
tween the  enemy  and  his  own  cannon,  which,  being  thus  prevented 
from  firing  any  longer,  of  course  became  useless.  This  conduct  was 
deservedly  followed  by  a  complete  overthow.  The  imperialists,  hav- 
ing nothing  more  to  fear  from  the  French  artillery,  rallied  and  fell 
with  fury  on  the  squadron  commanded  by  the  king.  In  a  few  mo- 
ments, the  scale  of  fortune  was  inclined ;  Francis  saw  all  his  atten- 
dants fall  by  his  side;  and  after  having  fought  with  the  most  despe- 
rate courage,  and  killed  seven  of  the  assailants  with  his  own  hand, 
he  was  forced  to  surrender  himself  a  prisoner.  Of  the  French 
army,  one-half  had  been-  destroyed,  the  remainder  evacuated  Italy 
(A.  D.  1525). 

The  unhappy  monarch  was,  according  to  his  own  request,  con- 
veyed to  Madrid,  the  capital  of  Spain.  He  was  detained  there  for 
several  months,  and  could  not  rescue  himself  from  his  tedious  cap- 
tivity otherwise  than  by  promising  the  full  cession  of  several  pro- 
vinces, which  he  either  actually  possessed,  or  had  hitherto  claimed. 
No  sooner  was  he  set  at  liberty,  than  he  bitterly  complained  of  the 


A.  it.  1520-1532.    CHARLES  V  AND  SOLIMAN  II.  371 

rigor  of  these  conditions,  and  availed  himself  of  the  opposition  with, 
which  the  treaty  met  in  the  council  of  state,  to  leave  it  unexecuted. 

This  conduct  could  not  but  highly  displease  the  emperor.  The 
feelings  of  both  parties  were  thus  more  exasperated  than  ever; 
the  war  was  renewed,  and  carried  on  with  redoubled  violence,  espe- 
cially by  the  treacherous  constable  de  Bourbon,  who,  having  no 
funds  to  pay  his  army  chiefly  composed  of  Lutheran  soldiers  from 
Germany,  promised,  in  order  to  make  Pope  Clement  VII  repent  of 
his  kind  disposition  towards  France,  to  enrich  them  by  the  pillage  of 
Rome.  Accordingly  he  led  his  troops  to  the  attack  of  this  capital; 
and,  although  he  fell  by  a  musket  ball  as  he  was  mounting  a  ladder 
for  the  assault,  the  city  was  taken,  and  being  abandoned  for  two 
months  to  a  licentious  and  infuriated  soldiery,  suffered  more  from  the 
German  adventurers,  than  it  had  formerly  done  from  either  the  Goths 
or  the  Vandals.  Still,  as  neither  this  nor  any  other  event  of  the  war 
could  be  looked  upon  as  a  decisive  action,  both  parties  became  tired 
of  hostilities,  and  equally  desirous  of -a  speedy  accommodation  of 
their  differences.  This  was  effected  in  1529  by  the  treaty  of  Cam- 
bray,  which,  although  less  adverse  to  the  interests  of  the  French 
monarch  than  that  of  Madrid,  secured  many  advantages  to  the 
emperor. 


CHARLES  V  AND  SOLIMAN  II.*— A.  D.  1520—1532. 


THE  chief  motive  which  had  urged  Charles  V  to  conclude  peace 
with  France,  was,  that  he  needed  all  his  troops  to  defend  his  heredi- 
tary dominions  against  the  Turks.  The  invading  spirit  of  those 
infidels  was  still  as  remarkable  as  under  Mahomet  II.  Not  only  had 
they,  within  the  last  years,  extended  their  conquests  in  Europe  and 
Asia,  but  even  Egypt,  the  richest  country  of  Africa,  was  entirely 
subdued  by  them  in  1517,  notwithstanding  the  brave  resistance  of  its 
possessors,  the  Mamelukes. 

Soliman  II,  who  succeeded  his  father,  Selim  I,  in  1520,  carried 
still  further  the  glory  of  the  Ottoman  name.  More  fortunate  than 
Mahomet  himself,  he  successfully  invaded  Hungary ;  and  Belgrade, 
no  longer  protected  by  the  sword  of  Hunniades,  fell,  after  a  siege 
of  six  weeks,  into  the  hands  of  the  Turks.  Many  other  towns 
were  successively  carried  by  storm,  or  obliged  to  open  their  gates. 
After  this  expedition,  the  sultan  not  thinking  it  advisable,  for  the 

*  Called  Soliman  I  by  several  authors,  who  do  not  reckon  Soliman,  the 
fion  of  Bajazet  I,  among  the  Turkish  sultans,  owing  probably  to  the  short 
and  precarious  duration  of  his  reign. 


372  MODERX    HISTORY.  Parf  vu. 

present,  to  advance  farther  in  that  direction,  prepared  himself  for 
another  conquest  which  he  deemed  still  more  important. 

In  1522,  four  hundred  vessels  and  two  hundred  thousand  men 
appeared  in  sight  of  Rhodes,  and  laid  siege  to  the  capital  of  irus 
island  which  had  now  been  in  the  possession  of  the  Knights  Hospi- 
tallers for  more  than  two  hundred  years.  The  Grand -Master  was 
Villiers  de  PIsle  Adam,  a  hero  not  inferior  in  any  respect  to  Peter 
d'Aubusson,  but  less  favored  by  existing  circumstances.  The  nations 
of  Europe  being  too  actively  engaged  in  the  struggle  between  Cnarles 
V  and  Francis  I,  to  send  him  any  assistance,  all  the  forces  he  could 
oppose  to  the  multitude  of  the  assailants,  consisted  merely  of  five 
thousand  soldiers  and  six  hundred  knights.  Still,  with  this  handful 
of  warriors,  he  held  out,  during  six  months,  against  all  the  efforts  or 
the  Janizaries  and  all  the  exertions  of  Soliman,  who  had  now  arrived 
to  conduct  the  siege  in  person.  Such  was  the  valor  of  these  generous 
defendeis  of  Rhodes,  that,  in  a  general  assault,  the  Turks  lost  no 
fewer  than  twenty  thousand,  and  in  other  attacks,  a  proportionate 
amount  of  their  most  intrepid  warriors. 

At  the  sight  of  this  dreadful  slaughter  of  his  troops,  the  sultan, 
driven  almost  to  despair,  thought  of  abandoning  the  siege,  when  the 
secret,  but  fatal  advice  of  an  infamous  traitor,  one  of  the  chief  com- 
manders in  the  town,  encouraged  him  to  stay  and  redouble  his 
efforts.  The  treason  indeed  was  detected,  and  visited  almost  instant- 
ly with  capital  punishment;  but  it  was  too  late  for  the  liberation  of 
Rhodes,  now  in  great  want  of  ammunition,  and  almost  reduced  to 
the  last  extremity.  Although  the  knights  continued,  with  their  usual 
heroism,  to  repel  every  assault  of  the  enemy,  and  seemed  determined 
to  bury  themselves  under  the  ruins  of  their  capital,  the  inhabitants 
were  not  endowed  with  the  same  degree  of  fortitude.  Justly  dread- 
ing the  horrors  of  a  city  carried  by  storm,  they  urged  with  entreaties, 
and  even  with  threats,  the  acceptance  of  an  honorable  and  advan- 
tageous capitulation  offered  by  Soliman. 

It  had  thus  "become  an  indispensable  necessity  to  yield,  and  all 
subsequent  resistance  would  have  been  of  no  avail;  however,  the 
few  remaining  knights  could  not  leave,  without  deep  regret,  the  spot 
which  had  been  the  theatre  of  their  exploits.  Above  all,  the  depar- 
ture of  the  Grand-Master,  at  his  advanced  age,  for  a  distant  country, 
was  an  afflicting  scene,  which  the  sultan  himself  could  not  witness 
without  compassion.  Like  the  Trojans  of  old,  under  the  conduct  of 
/Eneas,  these  noble  fugitives,  carrying  along  with  them  the  fortunes 
and  destinies  of  their  Order,  wandered  for  some  time  over  the  seas, 
in  search  of  a  hospitable  land.  After  a  short  stay  in  Candia,  they 
reached  the  shores  of  Italy,  where  they  met  with  the  most  consoling 
and  cordial  reception,  and  obtained  at  length  from  Charles  V  the 


A.  D.  1520-1532.   CHARLES    V    AND    SOLIMAN    II.  373 

possession  of  the  small  island  of  Malta,  in  the  middle  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean sea,  a  situation  well  adapted  to  their  religious  and  military  pur- 
poses. They  fortified  this  new  residence,  so  as  to  make  it,  like  the 
former,  the  bulwark  of  Christendom  and  the  centre  of  their  exertions 
against  the  infidels. 

The  heavy  losses  which  Soliman  had  sustained  in  Rhodes,  taught 
him  not  to  be  hasty  in  undertaking  any  new  expedition.  He  there- 
fore passed  the  three  or  four  ensuing  years  in  promoting  the  interior 
prosperity  of  his  empire,  and  securing  among  his  subjects  an  ade- 
quate distribution  of  justice;  till  a  revolt  of  the  Janizaries  warned 
him  again,  very  unhappily  for  Europe,  not  to  let  those  restless  war- 
riors live  any  longer  in  idleness.  Having  quelled  the  sedition,  he, 
for  the  second  time,  invaded  Hungary,  at  the  head  of  two  hundred 
thousand  men.  King  Louis  II,  with  only  twenty-five  or  thirty  thou- 
sand soldiers,  fearlessly  met  him  in  the  plains  of  Mohats,  but  was, 
after  a  sharp  contest,  overwhelmed  by  numbers,  and  lost  on  the  same 
day  his  army,  his  crown,  and  his  life  (A.  D.  1526).  The  sultan,  no 
longer  opposed  in  his  march,  now  laid  waste  the  surrounding  country, 
took  Buda,  an  important  place,  and  advancing  westward  towards 
Vienna,  laid  siege  to  that  city,  the  capital  of  the  Austrian  dominions. 
Fortunately,  Vienna  was  better  supplied  than  Rhodes  with  troops 
and  provisions:  twenty  thousand  brave  soldiers,  under  the  command 
of  the  count  Palatine  and  the  earl  of  Salm,  composed  the  garrison, 
and  all  of  them  displayed  so  undaunted  a  courage,  as  finally  to  com- 
pel the  Turks  to  retire,-  after  twenty  useless  assaults,  and  the  loss  of 
eighty  thousand  warriors  (A.  D.  1529). 

Soliman  however  did  not  yet  give  up  his  hostile  designs  against 
Austria.  He  reappeared  in  1532,  with  an  army  of  three,  some  say, 
five  hundred  thousand  men.  Charles  V  marched  against  him  with 
thirty  thousand  horse,  and  ninety  thousand  well  disciplined  infantry, 
besides  prodigious  swarms  of  irregulars.  At  the  sight  of  these 
powerful  monarchs  and  of  their  formidable  hosts  advancing  against 
each  other,  all  Europe  stood  in  awe  and  in  expectation  of  a  tremen- 
dous conflict;  yet,  when  the  armies  approached,  instead  of  a  decisive 
battle,  there  were  only  a  few  skirmishes  between  the  advanced  par- 
ties. Soliman  did  not  think  proper  to  risk  a  defeat;  and,  retreating 
in  good  order,  rather  chose  to  turn  his  arms  against  the  less  warlike 
nations  of  Asia.  Nor  did  the  emperor  undertake  to  pursue  him  in 
this  retrograde  march,  but,  being  himself  satisfied  to  see  the  coun- 
try free  from  invasion,  he  disbanded  his  own  forces,  and  set  out 
from  Germany  to  visit  his  provinces  of  Italy,  and  his  kingdom  of 
Spain. 

32 


374  MODERN  HISTORY. 


CONQUEST   OF  MEXICO.— HERNANDO   CORTEZ. 
A.  D.  1519—1523. 


WHILST  Charles  V  caused  his  power  to  be  obeyed  or  feared  ali 
over  Europe,  his  name  was  carried  to  the  extremities  of  the  earth  by 
the  celebrated  Magellan,  who  was  the  first  to  undertake  the  circum- 
navigation of  the  globe;  and  other  intrepid  adventurers,  about  the 
same  time,  were  subjecting  to  his  sway  vast  and  opulent  countries 
in  the  New  World.  Such  was,  indeed,  especially  during  this  period, 
the  heroic  spirit,  partly  religious  and  partly  chivalrous,  diffused 
among  the  Spaniards,  that  nothing  seemed  impossible  to  their  activi- 
ty, valor  and  perseverance.  This  the  reader  will  easily  perceive  in 
the  impartial  and  detailed  account  of  the  manner  in  which  a  few 
warriors  of  that  magnanimous  nation  succeeded  in  conquering  the 
mighty  empires  of  Mexico  and  Peru,  the  former  in  North,  the  latter 
in  South  America. 

In  one  of  their  excursions  upon  the  American  continent,  the  Span- 
iards were  informed  that  there  existed,  at  no  great  distance  from  the 
coast,  a  rich  and  flourishing  empire  called  Mexico.  The  governor 
of  Cuba,  Velasquez,  having  conceived  the  design  of  establishing 
colonies  in  that  extensive  country,  fitted  out  a  fleet  for  that  purpose, 
and  placed  it  under  the  command  of  Hernando  Cortez,  one  of  his 
officers,  whom  he  considered  as  a  man  equally  capable  of  bringing 
the  most  arduous  enterprise  to"  a  happy  issue;  and  at  the  same  time 
incapable  of  ever  aspiring  to  independence.  His  conjectures  as  to 
the  abilities  of  Cortez  were  perfectly  correct;  for  it  would  have  been 
impossible  to  find  an  individual  possessing  more  sagacity  and  pru- 
dence, more  energy  and  boldness :  but,  as  the  sequel  will  show,  he 
had  completely  mistaken  the  turn  of  his  mind  and  his  real  cha- 
racter. 

Cortez  saile^l  from  Cuba  on  the  tenth  of  January  (A.  D.  1519),  with 
eleven  small  vessels  carrying  six  hundred  men,  sixteen  horses  and 
six  pieces  of  artillery ;  not  hesitating  with  this  inconsiderable  force  to 
undertake  the  conquest  of  an  empire  which  exceeded  in  extent  all  the 
European  dominions  of  Spain.*  He  had  not  proceeded  far,  when 

*  Intelligent  readers  will  easily  understand  that  we  here  make  use  of  the 
word  conquest,  only  through  an  anticipated  view  of  the  event.  The  projects 
of  Cortez,  as  both  his  words  and  conduct  invariably  testified,  were  wholly 
humane  and  pacific.  It  is  true,  he  provided  himself,  and  that  very  pru- 
dently, with  means  of  self-defence  and  even  of  warfare,  for  the  case  of 
stern  necessity:  but  he  always  intended  to  treat  the  natives  with  due  mode- 
ration and  kindness,  and  with  a  sincere  desire  of  their  own  grestier  good  ; 
nor  did  he  deviate  from  this  rule,  until  compelled  to  do  so  by  thr  in  loinita- 
ble  hostility  of  the  Indians. 


A.  o.  1519-1523.         CONQUEST  OF  MEXICO.  375 

Velasquez  began  to  entertain  suspicions  against  the  netv  general, 
and  wished  to  revoke  his  commission ;  but  it  was  too  late.  Cortez, 
protected  not  only  by  the  affection  of  his  soldiers,  but  also,  says  Solis, 
by  the  justice  of  his  cause,  continued  his  voyage,  and  landing  on  the 
continent,  caused  himself  to  be  proclaimed  independent  of  the  gover- 
nor of  Cuba,  and  accountable  to  none  but  the  Spanish  monarcli  for 
the  use  of  his  authority.  Immediately  after  this,  he  founded  the  colony 
of  Vera  Cruz,  and  the  better  to  inspire  his  troops  with  desperate 
courage,  burnt  all  his  vessels,  thus  taking  from  them  all  hope  of 
return. 

The  undaunted  Spaniards  began  to  advance  through  a  populous 
country  towards  the  Mexican  capital,  concerning  which  they  had  ob- 
tained new  and  more  ample  information.  It  was  then  under  the 
sway  of  Montezuma,  a  prince  who  governed  with  absolute  despotism. 
Many  of  his  subjects  and  tributaries,  especially  those  at  a  distance, 
tired  of  the  yoke  that  lay  heavy  upon  them,  looked  upon  Cortez 
as  a  deliverer,  entered  into  an  alliance  with  him,  and  supplied  him 
•with  provisions  and  every  kind  of  assistance.  The  republic  of  Tlas- 
cala,  however,  did  not  follow  their  example;  on  the  contrary,  it  pre- 
pared to  repel  the  strangers  by  open  force.  Many  battles  were 
fought,  in  which  that  people  displayed  uncommon  bravery;  but  they 
could  not  long  withstand  the  arms  and  tactics  of  the  Europeans. 
Finding  themselves  constantly  overpowered,  the  Tlascalans  at  length 
consented  to  treat  the  Spaniards  as  friends,  and  in  fact  became  thence- 
forth their  most  faithful  and  useful  allies.  They  aided  Cortez  won- 
derfully in  the  prosecution  of  his  enterprise,  particularly  in  subduing 
the  great  city  of  Cholula,  and  inflicting  a  severe  chastisement  on  its 
inhabitants  for  a  dreadful  conspiracy  which  had  endangered  the  lives 
of  all  the  conquerors. 

In  the  mean  time,  Montezuma  was  endeavoring,  by  every  expe- 
dient in  his  power,  to  impede  the  progress  of  the  Spaniards;  but 
Cortez  overcame  all  obstacles,  and,  after  a  few  days,  finally  came 
within  sight  of  the  vast  and  populous  city  of  Mexico,  which  con- 
tained no  fewer  than  sixty  thousand  houses  with  a  proportionate 
number  of  inhabitants.  It  was  surrounded  by  a  lake,  well  fortified, 
and  adorned  with  a  great  number  of  temples,  palaces,  and  other  pub- 
lic buildings,  evincing  a  certain  degree  of  civilization.  Cortez  entered 
the  town,  under  his  assumed  quality  of  ambassador  of  the  Spanish 
monarch,  and  was  received  with  great  pomp  by  Montezuma,  who 
lodged  him  together  with  the  other  Spaniards,  in  one  of  his  palaces. 
But  whilst  these  things  took  place  in  Mexico,  an  Attack  had  be&n 
directed  by  a  Mexican  general  against  the  colony  of  Vera  Cruz.  No 
sooner  was  Cortez  informed  of  all  the  circumstances  of  this  new  act 
of  perfidy  than,  in  order  to  secure  himself  against  the  dangers  of  his 


376  MODERN  HISTORY. 


Part  VII 


situation,  he  conceived  and  executed  the  boldest  and  most  extraor- 
dinary design  of  which  history  makes  mention,  that  of"  arresting  the 
emperor  himself  in  open  day,  and  in  the  very  presence  of  his  officers 
and  subjects  Taking  with  him  a  small  band  of  resolute  men,  he 
went  to  the  imperial  palace,  surrounded  Montezuma,  and  compelled 
him  tc  come  with  them  to  their  residence  as  a  hostage.  In  that  new 
abode,  the  astounded  monarch  agreed  to  acknowledge  himself  a  vassal 
of  Charles  V;  and,  in  consequence  of  this  agreement,  delivered  into 
the  hands  of  the  Spaniards  a  large  sum  ol  gold  and  silver,  which 
Cortez  distributed  among  his  officers  and  soldiers  with  admirable  dis- 
interestedness and  equity. 

Every  thing  until  now  had  been  successful,  and  according  to  the 
most  sanguine  wishes  of  Cortez;  but  this  course  of  prosperity  was 
soon  to  meet  with  new  obstacles.  On  the  one  hand,  the  Mexicans 
began  to  evince  a  strong  indignation  at  the  long  sojourn  of  their 
sovereign  among  foreigners,  and  at  the  protracted  stay  of  the  Span- 
iards in  Mexico;  on  the  other  hand,  intelligence  was  received  that 
the  governor  of  Cuba,  Velasquez,  had  despatched  eighteen  ships  and 
nine  hundred  men  to  attack  Cortez  as  a  rebel.  This  rendered  the 
position  of  the  latter  extremely  perplexing.  Should  he  remain  in 
Mexico,  or  march  against  his  new  opponents,  there  was  in  either  case 
equal  danger  of  losing  all  the  fruit  of  his  past  labors.  He  therefore 
adopted  a  middle  course,  not  less  daring  indeed  than  the  other  two, 
but  which  offered  a  greater  chance  of  succeed  ing  on  one  side,  without 
losing  ground  on  the  other.  Leaving  one  hundred  and  fifty  men  in 
the  imperial  city  under  the  command  of  Alvarado,  a  brave  and  in- 
trepid officer,  to  preserve  the  advantage  he  had  already  obtained;  he. 
set  out  with  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  others,  to  meet  his  hostile 
and  imprudent  countrymen.  By  prodigies  of  courage  and  activity, 
he  not  only  surprised  and  defeated  the  nine  hundred  Spaniards,  but 
even  disarmed  them  all,  made  Narvaez,  their  general,  prisoner,  and 
taking  the  vanquished  troops  of  that  unskilful  commander  into  his 
own  service,  returned  in  triumph  to  Mexico. 

His  joy  was  not  of  long  duration.  The  open  insurrection  of  the 
Mexicans,  which  had  commenced  during  his  absence,  became  gene- 
ral after  his  return.  The  Spaniards  were  surrounded,  and  repeatedly 
attacked  in  their  intrenchments.  As,  on  one  occasion,  the  danger 
appeared  more  pressing,  Montezuma,  made  his  appearance,  in 
order  to  quell  the  sedition;  but  the  unfortunate  monarch  was  struck 
by  a  stone  thrown  by  one  of  the  assailants,  and  expired  after  three 
days  of  great  suffering.  His  death  proved  fatal  to  the  Spaniards,  in 
whose  preservation  and  welfare  he  seemed,  in  the  end,  to  take  a  sin- 
cere interest.  Under  Quetlavacu,  his  successor,  the  attacks  of  the 
Mexicans  were  carried  on  with  redoubled  fury;  and,  although  thou- 


..  D.  1516-1883.    CONQUEST  OF  MEXICO,   ETC.  377 

Bands  of  them  were  daily  destroyed  by  the  swords  and  cannons  of  the 
Spaniards,  others  fearlessly  rushed  forward  in  crowds  to  fill  up  the 
places  of  the  slain,  and  to  maintain  the  sanguinary  contest. 

In  all  these  occurrences,  Cortez  made  exertions  and  displayed  a 
valor  which  seemed  to  be  almost  above  nature.  OnedaJ%for  instance, 
ne  fought,  though  painfully  wounded,  during  three  hours,  till  he 
forced  the  Mexicans  to  abandon  a  post  from  which  they  considerably 
annoyed  the  Spaniards.  On  another  occasion,  having  driven  the  as- 
sailants to  a  distance,  and  being  entirely  occupied  in  continuing  the 
pursuit,  he  at  length  found  himself  cut  off  by  a'  numerous  body  of 
enemies  from  his  own  troops.  In  this  imminent  danger,  he  endeavored 
to  reach  a  neighboring  street,  which  he  supposed  might  afford  him  a 
greater  facility  for  escape.  Scarcely  had  he  advanced  in  that  direc- 
tion, when  he  met  another  party  of  Mexicans,  and  saw  in  the  midst 
of  them  his  intimate  friend  Duero,  whom  they  were  dragging  to  a 
temple  of  idols,  to  immolate  him  to  their  gods.  Cortez,  forgetful  of 
his  own  peril,  immediately  rushed  against  them,  dispersed  their  troop, 
and  delivered  Duero,  who  was  even  so  fortunate  as  to  find  his  horse 
and  spear  at  a  small  distance.  Then  the  two  noble  friends  riding  to- 
gether,  pierced  the  crowd  of  their  enemies,  and  safely  rejoined  their 
soldiers,  who  had  just  completed  the  defeat  of  the  Mexicans.  Cortez 
always  considered  this  adventure  as  one  of  the  most  fortunate  of 
his  life. 

It  became  necessary,  however,  for  the  present,  to  abandon  Mexico. 
The  requisite  preparations  for  a  retreat  were  made  with  extraordinary 
diligence  and  care;  and  the  Spaniards  began  their  march,  a  little 
after  midnight,  on  the  first  of  July,  1520.  Silence  and  obscurity 
favored  them  at  first;  but  all  their  motions  had  been  watched  by  a 
vigilant  foe,  and  no  sooner  had  they  begun  to  cross  a  breach  in  the 
causeway,  than  a  shower  of  darts,  arrows  and  stones  assailed  them 
from  different  sides.  Dismay  and  confusion  pervaded  their  ranks, 
and  the  preposterous  conduct  of  many  who  were  intent  on  preserving 
their  riches,  was  an  additional  cause  of  disasters.  This  awful  night, 
which  justly  retained  the  name  of  Noche  triste,  cost  the  retreating 
army,  several  hundred  Spanish,  and  more  than  a  thousand  Tlascalan 
soldiers,  with  nearly  all  the  horses,  treasure,  artillery  and  baggage. 
Cortez  appeared  inconsolable,  and  was  seen  on  the  following  day, 
when  the  troops  resumed  their  march,  shedding  abundant  tears,  thus 
giving  a  mark  of  paternal  sensibility,  that  endeared  him  to  his  sol- 
diers, as  much  as  his  consummate  prudence  and  valor  caused  him  to 
be  respected. 

The  Spaniards  continued  their  retreat  in  good  order,  notwithstand- 
ing some  skirmishes  which  they  had  occasionally  to  repel.  It  was 
rather  matter  of  surprise,  that  they  did  not  meet  with  more  formidable 
32* 


378  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Part  VII 


attacks;  but  the  sixth  day  of  their  march  taught  them  the  new 
schemes  contrived  by  the  enemy  for  their  destruction.  The  Mexican 
forces  had  been  secretly  directed  to  the  valley  of  Otumba,  through 
which  the  Spanish  troops  would  be  obliged  to  pass,  on  their  way  to 
Tlascala.  When  Cortez  reached  the  neighborhood  of  that  spot,  the 
whole  valley  was  already  occupied  by  a  hostile  force  amounting,  it 
is  said,  to  the  number  of  two  hundred  thousand  Indians,  who  had 
been  collected  from  different  tribes,  as  appeared  from  the  variety  of 
their  banners  and  ornaments.  In  the  midst  of  them,  the  general  of 
the  empire  appeared*  conspicuous,  borne  upon  a  splendid  litter,  from 
which  he  gave  his  orders.  He  carried  in  his  hands  the  imperial 
standard,  which  was  never  intrusted  to  any  one  but  himself,  and 
never  unfurled  except  on  the  most  important  occasions. 

At  the  sight  of  this  vast  multitude  of  enemies,  Cortez  fervently 
implored  the  divine  assistance,  and  plainly  told  his  followers,  that 
there  was  no  alternative  now  left  them  but  to  conquer  or  die.  His 
plan  was,  to  open  for  his  troops  a  passage  through  the  Indians  in 
the  narrowest  part  of  the  valley,  where  the  confined  nature  of  the 
spot  would  more  easily  render  multitudes  useless.  Accordingly,  he 
disposed  his  infantry  in  the  form  of  a  column,  the  files  of  which  were 
composed  alternately  of  arquebusiers  or  archers  and  lancers.  As  to  his 
cavalry,  which  terrified  the  Indians  by  the  mere  motion  of  the  horses, 
it  was  placed  partly  in  front,  to  break  the  first  rank  of  the  enemy, 
and  partly  in  the  rear,  to  prevent  them  from  reuniting.  In  this  order, 
the  Spaniards  descended  the  hill,  in  order  to  commence  the  perilous 
conflict. 

The  first  discharge  of  the  fire-arms  was  made  with  such  success, 
that  the  Mexicans  who  were  facing  the  Spanish  column,  had  no  time 
to  shoot  their  arrows.  They  were  instantly  attacked  with  swords 
and  pikes,  whilst  the  cavalry  pushed  forward,  and  dispersed  or 
crushed  all  who  fell  in  their  way.  Considerable  advantage  was 
gained  by  this  first  onset.  Similar  charges  produced  similar  results; 
but  so  great  and  obstinate  was  the  bravery  of  the  Indians,  that,  after 
the  cavalry  had  forced  them  to  retire,  they  fearlessly  returned  to  the 
charge,  and  regained  the  ground  which  they  had  just  lost,  the  valley 
of  Otumba,  in  the  mean  time,  resembling  a  stormy  sea  agitated  by 
the  perpetual  motion  of  its  waves.  Cortez,  who,  at  the  head  of  the 
horsemen,  was  making  a  terrible  slaughter  wherever  he  directed  his 
steps,  began  to  fear  that  this  mode  of  warfare  would  finally  exhaust 
the  strength  of  his  little  army.  His  uneasiness  increased  every  mo- 
ment; when  he  suddenly  conceived  one  of  those  bold  ideas  which 
great  danger  sometimes  suggests,  but  only  in  men  of  uncommon 
energy  of  soul. 

At  the  sight  of  the  imperial  banner  waving  in  the  distance,  Cortez 


A.  D.  1519-1523.  CONQUEST  OF  MEXICO,  ETC.  379 

remembered  having  heard  that  the  fate  of  battles  was  considered  by 
the  Indians  as  dependent  on  its  loss  or  preservation.  He  immediately 
called  around  him  his  bravest  officers,  Sandoval,  Olid,  Alvarado, 
with  some  other  courageous  men,  and,  at  full  gallop,  forced  his  pas- 
sage towards  the  banner.  Whilst  his  companions  were  despatching 
or  putting  to  flight  all  who  had  dared  to  aVait  their  approach,  he  him- 
self attacked  the  Mexican  general,  wounded  him,  and  by  a  powerful 
stroke  of  his  lance  brought  him  to  the  ground. 

As  soon  as  the  venerated  banner  disappeared  from  the  sight  of  the 
Mexicans,  they  lowered  the  other  ensigns,  and,  throwing  down  their 
arms,  fled  precipitately  towards  the  woods  and  mountains;  so  that 
the  valley  was  in  a  few  moments  entirely  cleared.  .Aware  how  im- 
portant it  was  to  complete  their  dispersion  and  overthrow,  Cortez 
ordered  his  men  to  pursue  them.  He  himself  was  suffering  from  the 
blow  of  a  stone,  which  had  broken  his  nelmet  and  made  a  large  con- 
tusion on  his  head.  Both  his  orders,  and  the  knowledge  that  he 
was  wounded,  so  animated  the  Spaniards,  that,  notwithstanding  the 
Dreadful  fatigue  of  the  day,  their  strength  seemed  to  be  revived,  and 
t.heir  fury  to  redouble  in  the  pursuit  of  the  enemy.  According  to  the 
(Spanish  authors,  twenty  thousand  Indians  perished  in  this  famous 
battle,  which  may  be  justly  reckoned  the  greatest  and  most  glorious 
ever  fought  by  the  Europeans  against  the  aborigines  of  America.* 

This  brilliant  victory  removed  all  obstacles  from  the  way  of  the 
Spaniards.  A  few  days  after,  they  safely  reached  the  friendly  city 
of  Tlascala,  where  a  kind  reception  made  some  compensation  for  the 
innumerable  hardships  which  they  had  hitherto  endured,  and  pre- 
pared them  for  new  and  more  decisive  efforts  against  Mexico. 

The  attention  of  Cortez  was  constantly  directed  to  the  grand  object 
his  mind  had  previously  in  view;  and  difficulties  rather  increased 
than  diminished  his  courage.  Having  granted  his  troops  the  repose 
which  they  needed,  and  given  permission  to  reembark  in  the  ships 
of  Narvaez  to  those  among  his  followers  who  were  afraid  of  another 
expedition,  he  devoted  all  his  time  and  care  to  the  levying  of  a  suffi- 
cient force.  His  good  fortune,  or  rather  Divine  Providence,  seconded 
his  efforts  beyond  his  expectation.  Bands  of  brave  soldiers ,  with 
arms  and  ammunition,  successively  came  to  him  from  different  quar- 
ters of  the  Spanish  settlements;  the  sulphur  of  a  neighboring  volcano 
enabled  him  to  provide  nearly  as  much  gun  powder  as  might  be 
wanted ;  thousands  of  the  Tlascalans  and  other  tribes  in  the  neigh- 
borhood offered  to  assist  him  in  the  conquest  of  Mexico:  in  fine, 

*  The  interesting  particulars  of  this  battle  may  be  seen  in  the  Spanisl* 
historian  Soils,  Canquista  de  la  Nueva  Espana,  lib.  iv,  cap.  20; — also  in 
the  English  authors  of  Univ.  Hist.  vol.  cxiv,  pp.  354—357; — in  La  Harpe, 
tfbrege  de  Vhistoire  des  voyages,  vol.  xiv.  pp  484 — 488 ;  etc. 


380  MODERN    HISTORY.  Part  vn 

there  were  found  sufficient  materials  to  build  as  many  brigantines, 
as  would  be  nececessary  to  secure  the  command  of  the  lake  by  which 
the  city  was  surrounded. 

When  all  things  were  in  readiness,  Cortez,  for  the  third  time, 
approached  the  capital  of  the  Mexicans,  and  commenced  the  regular 
operations  of  a  siege.  By  his  command,  the  attack  was  made  under 
the  direction  of  Sandoval,  Olid  and  Alvarado,  at  three  different  points 
along  three  causeways  leading  to  the  town.  Each  of  these  brave 
captains  had  under  him  thirty  or  forty  thousand  Indians,  with  two 
hundred  Spaniards  and  two  pieces  of  artillery.  Cortez  reserved  to 
himself  the  attempt  to  gain  possession  of  the  lake,  as  being  the  object 
on  the  attainment  of  which  the  success  of  all  their  exertions  chiefly 
depended.  His  penetrating  mind  having  easily  perceived  that  this 
was  the  surest  way  to  conquer  Mexico,  he  fitted  out  for  this  purpose 
a  flotilla  of  thirteen  brigantines,  each  of  which  had,  besides  sails, 
twelve  Indian  rowers,  twenty-five  Spanish  soldiers  with  a  captain  at 
their  head,  and  a  piece  of  ordnance.  Cortez  selected  for  himself  the 
swiftest  of  these  vessels,  that  he  might  the  more  easily  afford  assis- 
tance wherever  it  should  be  needed. 

The  brigantines,  disposed  in  a  single  line,  advanced  across  the  lake 
towards  Mexico.  At  some  distance  from  the  shore,  a  small  island, 
or  rather  a  large  rock,  on  which  was  a  castle  defended  by  bodies  of 
Indian  troops,  attracted  the  notice  of  the  Spanish  general.  When  he 
drew  near,  the  Mexicans,  believing  their  post  to  be  inaccessible, 
loaded  the  Spaniards  with  insults  and  threats.  Cortez  thought  that 
such  insolence  ought  not  to  go  unpunished,  especially  in  the  sight 
of  the  capital  and  in  the  presence  of  its  inhabitants,  who  were  ob- 
serving from  their  balconies  the  movements  of  the  European  flotilla. 
He  therefore  landed,  for  a  moment,  with  one  hundred  and  fifty  men, 
and  the  castle  was  assaulted  at  two  different  points  with  such  vigor 
and  success,  that  one  part  of  the  garrison  fell  by  the  sword,  and  the 
other  was  obliged  to  escape  by  swimming. 

This  easy  triumph  gave  occasion  to  another  of  much  greater  im- 
portance. Whilst  Cortez  and  his  troops  were  detained  in  the  island 
the  Mexicans  had  sufficient  time  to  collect  their  canoes  on  the  othei 
side  of  the  lake,  to  the  number  of  at  least  four  thousand,  with  which 
they  advanced  towards  the  enemy.  This  incredible  number  of  boats, 
the  agitation  of  the  waves,  the  glitter  of  the  arms  and  ornaments  ol 
the  Indians,  presented  a  spectacle  at  once  magnificent  and  terrific. 
Cortez  however  beheld  it  without  the  least  emotion,  and  merely  con 
sidered  it  as  a  warning  to  prepare  for  the  combat ;  only,  in  order  to 
oppose  a  larger  front  than  before  to  the  enemy,  he  now  caused  his 
ships  to  be  drawn  up  in  the  form  of  a  crescent.  No  sooner  had  he 
given  the  signal  for  the  attack,  than  all  the  brigantines,  urged  forward 


A.  D.  151^-1523.    CONQUEST  OF  MEXICO,  ETC.  381 

at  the  same  time  by  the  oars  and  by  a  favorable  breeze,  bore  down 
upon  the  Indian  boats  with  irresistible  impetuosity,  and,  notwith- 
standing the  gallant  resistance  of  the  Mexican  chieftains,  threw  them 
into  a  state  of  confusion  more  easily  conceived  than  described.  Nor 
was  the  result  for  a  moment  doubtful,  as  the  arms  of  the  Spaniards, 
a  favorable  wind,  and  the  very  bulk  of  their  vessels,  gave  them,  from 
the  beginning  of  the  action,  a  decided  superiority.  Great  numbers 
of  the  Indian  canoes  were  broken  to  pieces  by  the  artillery,  sunk  by 
coming  in  contact  with  the  brigantines,  or  dashed  against  one 
another;  the  remainder,  closely  pursued  by  a  victorious  enemy,  made 
a  narrow  escape. 

This  great  naval  victory  made  the  Spaniards  masters  of  the  lake, 
and  considerably  hastened  the  capture  of  Mexico.  The  three  divi- 
sions of  the  land  army  being  now  aided  by  their  victorious  fleet,  gra- 
dually advanced  along  the  causeways,  and  proceeded  into  the  very 
streets  of  the  imperial  city,  not,  however,  without  terrible  obstacles  and 
several  bloody  conflicts,  the  Mexicans  being  occasionally  successful 
in  repelling  the  attacks  of  the  besiegers,  and  disputing  every  inch  of 
ground  with  incredible  obstinacy.  In  these  desperate  encounters,  the 
Indians  were  animated  by  the  example  of  their  young  and  magnani- 
mous emperor,  Guatimozin,  who  had  lately  succeeded  Quetlavaca, 
and  who  left  nothing  untried  to  save  his  country  and  empire.  But 
the  combined  efforts  of  the  sovereign  and  of  his  subjects  served  only 
to  place  in  bolder  relief  the  consummate  abilities  of  the  Spanish  gene- 
ral. His  measures  were  so  well  concerted,  and  the  attack  so  admira- 
bly conducted  by  himself  and  his  officers,  that,  m  spite  of  every  ob- 
stacle, the  three  divisions  of  the  army  reached  the  centre  of  Mexico 
nearly  at  the  same  time.  The  other  parts  of  the  city  were  soon 
forced  to  surrender;  and,  as  the  provinces  quickly  shared  the  fate, 
and  followed  the  example  of  the  capital,  the  capture  of  Mexico,  in 
August,  1521,  may  be  considered  as  the  real  epoch  of 'the  downfall 
of  the  Mexican  empire.  The  siege  had  lasted  three  months,  and  cost 
the  lives  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  Indians. 

The  emperor,  with  his  court  and  family,  had  endeavored  to  escape, 
but  all  were  taken  prisoners.  The  Spanish  soldiery  greatly  disap- 
pointed in  the  amount  of  treasures  which  they  had  expected  to  obtain 
in  the  city,  determined,  in  order  to  discover  them,  to  put  the  unfortu- 
nate Guatimozin  and  his  chief  minister  to  the  rack.  That  prince 
endured  the  torture  with  invincible  constancy.  Most  historians 
relate  that  hearing  his  fellow-sufferer  complain,  he  turned  to  him  and 
said  :  "And  myself,  am  1  on  a  bed  of  roses?"  Cortez  rescued  him 
on  this  occasion,  from  the  hands  of  the  soldiery ;  but  Guatimozin 
being  afterwards  sensed  of  treason  and  conspiracy,  was  condemned 


382  MODERX    HISTORY. 


Part  VII 


and  put  to  death  about  the  year  1523.  Thus  perished  the  last  empe- 
ror of  Mexico. 

Cortez  himself  soon  experienced  the  vicissitudes  of  fortune.  The 
conquest  of  an  empire  at  first  acquired  for  him*  from  Charles  V  the 
honorable  title  of  viceroy  of  the  rich  and  extensive  regions  which  he 
had  subdued,  and  his  indefatigable  activity  in  improving  and  enlarg- 
ing his  conquests  entitled  him  more  and  more  to  honors  and  rewards. 
But  he  was  doomed,  like  Columbus,  to  be  the  victim  of  envy.  Twice 
was  he  obliged  to  cross  the  ocean,  in  order  to  vindicate  his  innocence; 
and  although  he  defended  it  with  success,  he  saw  his  authority  gra- 
dually declining,  until,  through  the  influence  of  his  enemies,  it  dis- 
appeared entirely.  His  great  services  now  seemed  to  be  forgotten" 
the  conqueror  of  Mexico  was  treated  with  a  sort  of  indifference  by 
the  court  of  Spain,  and  could  scarcely  obtain  an  audience  from  his 
sovereign.  It  is  said  that,  as  he  one  day  made  his  way  through  the 
crowd  which  surrounded  the  carriage  of  the  emperor,  Charles  asked 
him  who  he  was:  "I  am,"  replied  Cortez,  "  the  man  who  gave 
more  provinces  to  your  majesty  than  you  inherited  towns  from  your 
ancestors."  In  fine,  baffled  in  all  his  hopes  of  recovering  his  former 
dignities,  he  retired  to  a  little  town  near  Seville,  where  he  died  at  the 
age  of  sixty-two  years  (A.  D.  1547). 

The  life  of  Cortez  exhibits  a  variety  of  exploits  so  extraordinary, 
that,  were  it  not  for  the  testimony  of  the  best  historical  documents, 
they  would  rather  appear  to  exist  only  in  the  imagination.  The 
burning  of  his  fleet,  after  landing  on  unknown  shores;  his  attack  of 
a  powerful  empire  with  a  handful  of  men;  the  capture  of  Monte- 
zuma  in  the  midst  of  his  own  capital;  the  defeat  of  Narvaez;  the 
victory  of  Otumba;  the  siege  and  conquest  of  Mexico,  with  all  their 
circumstances,  present  a  series  of  truly  wonderful  events — events 
almost  unparalleled  in  the  annals  of  history.  Even  amongst  the  greatest 
conquerors,  few  possessed,  in  as  high  a  degree  as  Cortez,  prudence 
in  counsel,  sagacity  in  his  plans  and  measures,  intrepidity  in  their 
execution,  and  energy  of  soul  in  the  severest  trials.  The  greater  were 
the  dangers  and  hardships  to  which  he  was  exposed,  the  more  did  his 
courage,  presence  of  mind  and  military  genius  appear.  To  these 
brilliant  qualifications  he  joined  a  religious  mind;  a  sincere  modesty, 
which  made  him  think  it  no  disgrace  to  ask  for  advice;  a  constant 
probity  and  generosity,  which  gained  him  universal  confidence  and 
esteem ;  in  fine,  a  dignified  gravity  in  his  public  deportment,  and  an 
amiable  kindness  and  decent  gaiety  in  the  ordinary  course  of  social 
and  domestic  life.* 

*  It  would  be  unjust  to  charge  this  hero  with  certain  acts  of  cruelty  com- 
mitted during  the  Mexican  war.  He  was  perhaps  too  hasty  in  consenting, 
though  he  did  so  with  reluctance  and  for  fear  of  worse  consequences,  to  the 


A.  D.  1524-1534.         CONQUEST    OF  PERU,  ETC.  383 

It  is  certain  then,  notwithstanding  the  attacks  of  envy  and  preju- 
dice, that  the  conqueror  of  Mexico  was  every  way  deserving  of  the 
extraordinary  success  which  attended  his  arms.  If  jealousy  endea- 
vored to  depreciate  his  transcendent  merit  during  life,  justice  openly 
proclaimed  it  after  his  death;  and  posterity  will  ever  distinguish 
Hernando  Cortez  among  the  many  eminent  personages  of  whom 
Spain  so  justly  boasts,  as  one  of  her  most  conspicuous  heroes. 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU.— FRANCIS  PIZARRO.— A.  D.  1524—1534. 

THE  same  is  to  be  said  of  the  conqueror  of  Peru,  Francis  Pizarro, 
a  man  whose  courage,  energy  and  magnanimity  were  not  inferior  to 
those  of  Cortez,  though  he  had  fewer  occasions  to  display  them  on 
the  field  of  battle.  Having  entered  into  a  compact  with  Diego  de 
Almagro,  another  intrepid  adventurer,  and  collected  a  small  band  of 
followers,  he  sailed,  in  1525,  from  Panama,  and  began  to  explore  the 
shores  of  the  Pacific  ocean.  His  first  attempts  at  discovery  were 
attended  with  little  success.  A  variety  of  obstacles,  contrary  winds, 
distempers,  and  the  like  incidents,  often  impeded  his  progress,  and  so 
dispirited  his  companions,  that  nearly  the  whole  crew  once  aban 
doned  him  and  returned  to  Panama,  not  more  than  thirteen  hardy 
men  consenting  to  remain  with  him  upon  a  desert  coast,  until  he 
should  receive  a  fresh  supply  of  soldiers  and  provisions.  By  his 
persevering  efforts,  he  succeeded,  under  the  sanction  of  the  Spanish 
government,  in  collecting  a  body  of  about  two  hundred  men,  for  the 
beginning  of  the  year  1531.  With  new  ardor  he  advanced  into  the 
very  heart  of  Peru,  an  extensive  monarchy  governed  by  sovereigns 
called  Incas,  and  the  richest  country  in  the  world  for  mines  of  gold 
and  silver. 

torture  and  execution  of  Guatimozin ;  but,  whatever  may  have  been  the 
fury  of  some  soldiers,  all  historians  agree  in  praising  the  habitual  modera- 
tion and  generosity  of  Cortez.  He  waged,  it  is  true,  a  terrible  warfare 
against  the  Mexicans,  but  it  should  be  remarked,  first,  that  he  did  not  com- 
mence hostilities  until  he  had  been  treacherously  and  repeatedly  attacked 
by  them  ;  in  the  second  place,  that,  even  in  the  midst  of  his  victories,  he 
constantly  offered  them  peace,  which  they  refused ;  and,  in  fine,  that  he  had 
to  fight  for  the  noble  cause  of  humanity  against  enemies  not  less  ferocious 
than  implacable,  and  addicted  to  the  barbarous  custom  of  immolating  hu- 
man victims,  to  the  number  of  at  least  twenty  thousand  every  year.  The 
project  of  extirpating  this  monstrous  barbarity  was,  on  the  principles  of  the 
ablest  divines  and  civilians,  Suarez,  Grotius,  etc.,  sufficient  of  itself  to  jus- 
tify the  military  expedition  of  Cortez,  and  to  render  it  a  just  and  honorable 
enterprise, 


384  MODERN    HISTORY.  Part  VlL 

The  Peruvians  were  not  less  awed  than  the  other  nations  of 
America,  at  the  sight  of  men  mounted  upon  formidable  animals,  and 
carrying  thunder  in  their  hands.  The  whole  country  was  divided  at 
that  time  into  two  hostile  parties  headed  by  the  late  Inca's  sons,  who 
had  just  made  an  appeal  to  arms  for  the  decision  of  their  quarrel  con- 
cerning the  succession  to  the  throne.  Huascar,  the  elder,  was  at 
first  victorious:  but  being  afterwards  defeated,  he  fell  into  the  hands 
of  his  younger  brother,  Atabaliba,  who  committed  great  cruelties  on 
this  occasion.  Both  princes  were  anxious  to  secure  the  protection 
of  the  strangers,  and  Pizarro  did  not  fail  to  take  advantage  of  circum- 
stances so  favorable  to  his  views.  Without  manifesting  his  real 
designs,  he  marched  on  to  meet  the  usurper,  and,  after  some  useless 
conferences,  so  vigorously  attacked  the  Peruvian  troops,  whose  number 
amounted  to  upwards  of  thirty  thousand  men,  that  four  thousand  of 
them  were  killed,  and  the  others  dispersed,  without  the  loss  of  a 
single  soldier  on  the  side  of  the  Spaniards.  The  proud  monarch  was 
made  prisoner,  and,  being  soon  tired  of  his  captivity,  he  offered  for 
his  ransom  to  fill  up  with  pieces  and  vessels  of  gold  a  room  twenty- 
two  feet  long  and  seventeen  broad,  as  high  as  his  hand  could  reach, 
and  double  that  quantity  of  silver.  The  stipulated  sum  was  paid  to 
the  Spaniards:  still  Atabaliba  did  not  recover  his  liberty;  but  on  cer- 
tain charges  of  an  odious  treason,  and  also  as  a  punishment  for  his 
brother's  murder,  he  was  put  to  death  in  the  year  1533. 

The  two  principal  cities  of  Peru,  Quito  and  Cusco,  surrendered  to 
the  Spaniards,  with  scarcely  any  show  of  resistance  (A.  D.  1534).  The 
rest  of  the  empire  was  also  subdued  in  a  short  time;  and,  the  better 
to  secure  its  allegiance,  Pizarro  founded,  at  a  short  distance  from  the 
sea,  the  rich  and  celebrated  city  of  Lima.  Unfortunately,  obstinate 
and  bloody  quarrels  began  to  arise  among  the  conquerors  themselves 
about  the  partition  of  their  conquest.  Pizarro  prevailed  for  a  time 
over  the  party  of  his  opponents:  but,  disdaining  to  give  credit  to  the 
intelligence  of  a  conspiracy  against  him,  he  finally  became  its  victim. 
On  the  twenty-sixth  of  June  (A.  D.  1541),  he  was  suddenly  attacked 
111  his  palace  at  Lima,  by  a  crowd  of  vile  assassins,  who,  in  their 
fury,  made  the  air  resound  with  the  cry,  away  with  the  tyrant.  His 
friends  and  servants  being  either  killed  or  dispersed,  he  remained 
alone,  without  betraying  the  least  sign  of  fear.  Surrounded  as  he 
was  by  murderers,  he  defended  himself  with  heroic  courage,  killed 
some  of  the  assailants,  wounded  others,  and  at  last,  having  himself 
received  a  mortal  wound,  fell  and  expired  in  the  midst  of  them, 
whilst  recommending  his  soul  to  his  Creator. 

Such  was  the  deplorable  end  of  one  of  the  most  illustrious  con- 
querors of  the  New  World ;  of  one,  to  whose  undaunted  valor  and 
invincible  constancy,  Spain  was  indebted  for  the  subjugation  of 


A.  D.  1535-1559.  CHARLES    V,    ETC.  335 

the  Peruvian  empire,  and  Charles  V  for  the  invaluable  mines  of  Po- 
tosi.  After  his  death,  civil  wars  continued  to  desolate  Peru,  until  the 
chief  leaders  of  the  first  expedition  had  all  disappeared.  It  was  only 
»n  1548  that  the  virtuous  governor  Pedro  de  la  Gasca  succeeded,  by 
his  consummate  prudence,  in  terminating  those  wars,  and  in  estab- 
lishing the  Spanish  government  on  a  permanent  basis  in  that  envia- 
ble country.  The  Spaniards  acquired  also,  about  the  same  time,  the 
extensive  territories  of  Chili  and  Paraguay;  and  the  Portuguese  pro- 
fited by  their  example,  to  form  valuable  settlements  along  the  coasts 
of  Brazil. 


CHARLES   V   CONTINUED— ACCESSION   OF   PHILIP  II,  AND 
FIRST  TRANSACTIONS  OF  HIS  REIGN.— A.  D.  1535—1559. 


WHILST  the  empire  of  Charles  V  was  thus  increasing  abroad  to 
an  immense  extent,  that  prince  continued  to  astonish  Europe  by  the 
display  of  his  military  and  political  talents.  War  having  been  re- 
newed between  him  and  Francis  I,  Charles  generally  maintained  the 
superiority  which  he  had  previously  acquired;  still,  when  he  at- 
tempted, in  1536,  to  invade  France  at  the  head  of  formidable  forces, 
he  was  compelled  to  retire  with  considerable  loss. 

The  year  before,  the  emperor  had  undertaken  an  expedition  into 
Africa,  for  the  purpose  of  checking  the  alarming  progress  of  Barba- 
rossa,  a  famous  pirate  chieftain.  Having  met  him  near  Tunis,  he 
defeated  him  in  a  great  battle,  took  the  city  and  rescued  from  twenty 
to  thirty  thousand  Christian  slaves.  Another  expedition  of  the  same 
kind,  directed  against  Algiers,  in  1541,  was  far  from  obtaining  the 
same  success:  dreadful  storms  both  on  sea  and  land  destroyed  half 
of  the  emperor's  fleet  and  army,  and  obliged  him  quickly  to  depart 
from  those  perilous  shores.  So  unfortunate  a  result  was  so  much 
the  more  painful  to  Charles,  as  he  had  conceived  and  followed  up  the 
project  of  conquering  Algiers,  contrary  to  the  advice  of  the  celebrated 
admiral  Andrew  Doria,  and  other  able  generals.  However,  through- 
out that  series  of  disasters,  he  evinced  such  courage,  firmness,  mag- 
nanimity, and  above  all,  so  tender  a  solicitude  for  his  distressed*  sol- 
diers, as  fully  to  atone  for  the  partial  loss  which  he  sustained  in  his 
reputation  with  regard  to  prudence  and  military  glory. 

The  same  alternation  of  success  and  misfortune  accompanied  him 
in  his  wars  against  the  Protestant  princes  of  Germany.  He  signally 
defeated  them  at  Mulbert  (A.  D.  1547),  but  they  recovered  from  this 
blow,  and  continued  te  give  him  considerable  trouble  till  the  year 
1552,  when  an  agreement  was  °ntered  into  by  both  parties. 
33 


386  .MODERN    HISTORY.  Part  VIL 

After  having  been  thus  long  the  chief  potentate  of  Europe,  after 
having  filled  the  whole  world  with  the  fame  of  liis  glorious  achieve- 
ments., this  mighty  emperor  abandoned  all  earthly  grandeur  for  ;in 
obscure  and  private  life.  He  left  the  imperial  dignity  to  his  brother 
Ferdinand,  resigned  the  Spanish  crown  with  all  its  appendages  and 
foreign  dominions  to  his  son  Philip,  and  retired  into  a  monastery  of 
Hieronymites  in  Spain  (A..  D.  1556).  In  that  peaceful  abode  he  lived 
two  years,  dividing  his  time  between  spiritual  exercises  and  innocent 
employments.  The  manner  in  which  he  closed  his  mortal  career 
was  as  extraordinary  as  his  life.  Stretching  himself  in  a  coffin,  he 
caused  the  funeral  rites  to  be  performed,  and  after  the  ceremony,  re- 
ared, in  a  state  of  deep  melancholy,  to  his  apartments,  where  he  was 
seized  with  a  violent  fever,  and  died  on  the  twenty-first  of  September, 
in  the  fifty-eighth  year  of  his  age.  His  reign,  together  with  that  of 
his  grand-father  Ferdinand  and  that  of  his  son  Philip,  undoubtedly 
forms  the  most  brilliant  part  of  the  history  of  Spain. 

The  famous  rival  of  Charles,  Francis  I,  had  descended  before  him 
into  the  grave :  he  was  succeeded  by  Henry  II,  a  prince  equal  to  his 
father  as  well  in  bravery  as  in  his  determined  opposition  to  the  house 
of  Austria.  This  hostile  feeling  Henry  II  had  often  evinced  during 
the  emperor's  life ;  new  causes  of  excitement  urged  him  to  manifest 
it  again  in  the  beginning  of  Philip's  reign.  Accordingly,  France  and 
Spain  continued  to  be  engaged  in  war  against  each  other  under  their 
new  sovereigns;  and,  in  consequence  of  the  marriage  of  Philip  II 
with  the  English  queen  Mary,  England  interfered  in  favor  of  the 
Spanish  monarch. 

In  the  year  1557,  the  war  assumed  a  most  serious  aspect.  The 
confederates,  amounting  to  seventy  thousand,  under  the  command  of 
the  duke  of  Savoy,  invaded  the  French  territory,  and  laid  siege  to  St. 
Quentin,  a  town  of  Picardy  defended  only  by  a  handful  of  soldiers. 
The  high-constable  of  Montmorency,  at  the  head  of  an  army  of  thirty 
thousand  men,  undertook  to  relieve  the  place,  and  really  succeeded  in 
augmenting  the  garrison ;  but,  not  having  withdrawn  in  due  time 
from  the  approaching  enemy,  he  was  overtaken  by  superior  forces,  and 
compelled  to  engage  in  a  very  unequal  contest.  His  defeat  was  en- 
tire; his  cavalry  fled;  five  thousand  of  the  infantry  were  killed  or 
wounded,  whereas  the  Spaniards  did  not  lose  more  than  eighty  men, 
and  several  other  thousand  among  the  vanquished,  together  with 
their  chief  officers,  the  constable  himself,  eighty-eight  banners,  and 
and  all  the  artillery  and  baggage,  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  con- 
querors. 

The  battle  of  St.  Gluentin  might  have  proved  the  downfall  ot  the 
French  monarchy,  had  the  conquerors  pursued  their  ad  van  tage  with- 
out delay.  They  wasted  their  time  in  taking  some  inconsideraMe 


A.  D.  1509-1588.    ENGLAND  UNDER  THE.TUDORS.          387 

towns,  until  the  autumnal  rains  obliged  them  to  retire  beyond  the 
frontier.  Henry  improved  the  happy  circumstance,  by  speedily  mus- 
tering new  forces,  whii^pnabled  him,  in  the  very  next  campaign, 
not  only  to  stand  upon  the  defensive,  but  even  to  attack  with  suc- 
cess. The  duke  of  Guise,  a  general  justly  renowned  for  having  a 
few  years  before  compelled  the  emperor  Charles  to  abandon  the 
siege  of  Metz,  was  now  placed  at  the  head  of  the  army,  with  the 
title  of  lieutenant-general  of  the  kingdom.  His  prudence  and  valor 
fully  answered  the  confidence  reposed  in  him.  After  deceiving  the 
allies  by  a  skilful  march,  he  suddenly  appeared  before  Calais,  and 
attacked  it  so  vigorously,  that  this  famous  town,  hitherto  considered 
impregnable,  was  taken  after  a  siege  of  eight  days.  It  had  been  du- 
ring two  hundred  and  ten  years  in  the  power  of  the  English,  who 
lost  with  it  their  last  possession  on  the  continent  (A.  D.  1558). 

At  the  news  of  this  event,  so  unexpected,  and,  under  existing  cir- 
cumstances, so  glorious  for  France,  all  nations  admired  the  vigor  of 
her  national  spirit  and  the  extent  of  her  resources.  No  later  than 
the  ensuing  year,  a  treaty  was  concluded  between  Philip  and  Henry, 
in  virtue  of  which  they  restored  to  each  other  nearly  all  their  late 
conquests ;  but  Calais,  with  some  other  places,  remained  in  the  pos- 
session of  the  French.  This  loss  sustained  by  the  English,  naturally 
leads  us  to  mention  the  other  great  transactions  both  civil  and  reli- 
gious which  took  place  in  England  under  the  government  of  the 
Tudors. 


ENGLAND  UNDER  THE  TUDORS.— A.  D.  1509—1588. 


AFTER  the  prosperous  reign  of  the  first  Tudor,  Henry  VII,  the 
English  sceptre  passed  in  1509,  into  the  hands  of  his  son,  the  famous 
Henry  VIII.  For  the  space  of  about  twenty  years,  the  new  mo- 
narch enjoyed  a  great  reputation,  and  increased  the  glory  of  his  king- 
dom, by  a  wise  administration  at  home,  owing  chiefly  to  the  abilities 
of  his  prime  minister,  Cardinal  Wolsey,  and  by  brilliant  success 
abroad,  in  his  wars  against  the  French  and  the  Scots  ;  (see  above,  page 
365).  A  vile  passion  which  he  would  not  restrain,  transformed  him 
into  a  despicable  prince  and  a  cruel  tyrant.  Wishing  to  repudiate  his 
lawful  wife,  Catherine  of  Arragon,  for  the  purpose  of  contracting 
another  marriage  with  Anne  Boleyn,  a  lady  of  his  court,  he  applied 
to  Pope  Clement  VII  to  obtain  a  dispensation ;  but  it  was  refused  as 
opposed  to  the  divine  law.  The  dissolute  monarch  disregarded  the 
refusal;  and  not  content  with  marrying  Anne  Boleyn,  he,  in  his 
anger,  abolished  the  papal  jurisdiction  in  his  kingdom,  and  assumed 


• 

388  MODERN    HISTORY.  Part  VII 

to  himself  the  exercise  of  all  spiritual  supremacy  oyer  the  English 
Church  (A.  D.  1534).  From  that  time,  he  made  his  own  will  the  only 
rule  to  be  followed  in  Church  and  Stale;  persecuted  both  Catholics 
and  Protestants;  and  spared  neither  his  wives  nor  his  most  illustrious 
subjects,  such  as  Bishop  Fisher  and  Chancellor  More,  who  were  put 
to  death  for  refusing  to  admit  the  assumed  power,  and  to  obey  the 
wicked  orders  of  the  tyrant.  This  unhappy  prince  died  in  1547. 

Under  his  son  and  successor,  young  Edward  VI,  and  by  the  exer- 
tions of  the  regent,  the  duke  of  Somerset,  the  Protestant  doctrine 
became  the  religion  of  England.  Mary,  the  eldest  daughter  of  Henry 
VIII,  reestablished  the  Catholic  worship  in  1554;  but,  in  1563,  it 
was  again  discarded  by  her  sister  Elizabeth,  who  founded  the  Church 
of  England  as  it  now  exists.  Mary,  exasperated  by  the  revolts 
which  disturbed  her  reign,  had  treated  the  Protestants  with  great 
rigor;  Elizabeth,  without  having  any  such  cause,  treated  the  Catholics 
with  still  greater  severity,  and.  under  the  influence  of  unprincipled 
ministers,  began  to  frame  those  oppressive  statutes  which  disgraced 
the  English  legislation  for  nearly  three  centuries,  and  have  in  parti- 
cular weighed  so  heavily  upon  Catholic  Ireland. 

Two  other  events  of  remarkable  importance  contributed  to  render 
the  reign  of  Elizabeth  for  ever  famous  in  a  double  point  of  view. 
The  first  was  the  death  of  the  queen  of  Scotland,  Mary  Stuart,  upon  a 
scaffold,  in  1587.  This  unfortunate  princess,  persecuted  with  invete- 
rate hatred  by  an  unnatural  brother,  and  other  enemies  of  her  faith, 
ner  authority  and  her  person,  had  been  obliged  to  seek  a  refuge  in 
England,  where,  instead  of  an  asylum,  she  found  a  dreary  prison. 
After  eighteen  years  of  confinement,  she  was  brought  to  a  trial  to 
which  history  affords  no  parallel,  and,  upon  a  variety  of  slanderous 
and  atrocious  charges,  was  condemned  to  capital  punishment,  which 
she  suffered  at  the  age  of  forty-two,  with  truly  Christian  fortitude. 
All  Europe  shuddered  with  horror  at  the  crime  of  her  enemies;  and 
Elizabeth  endeavored  in  vain,  by  affected  tears,  to  wipe  away  the 
foul  stain  for  ever  imprinted  on  her  own  character  by  this  deed  of 
darkness. 

The  other  event  alluded  to,  and  which,  in  a  political  point  of  view, 
did  great  honor  to  the  English  queen,  was  her  triumph  over  all  the 
maritime  forces  of  Spain.  Hitherto,  she  had,  by  proper  and  constant 
encouragement,  placed  her  own  navy  on  a  respectable  footing.  The 
famous  admiral  Drake  successively  attacked  the  coasts  of  San  Do- 
mingo, Florida,  Peru  and  Chili,  laid  waste  the  Spanish  settlements, 
and  each  time  returned  loaded  with  rich  booty.  Afterwards,  he 
attacked  the  coast  of  Spain  itself,  and  captured  or  destroyed  eighty 
vessels  in  the  harbor  of  Cadiz. 

These  attacks  were  too  flagrant  and  too  often  repeated,  not  to  pro- 


A.  D.  1560-1571.      WAR  AGAINST  THE  TURKS.  389 

voke  open  hostilities  from  Philip  II.  After  patiently  suffering  them 
for  a  time,  he  at  last  determined  to  take  ample  revenge,  and  prepared, 
at  immense  expense,  a  formidable  fleet  for  the  invasion  and  subjuga- 
tion of  England.  It  was  called  the  Invincible  Armada,  and  consisted 
of  one  hundred  and  fifty  enormous  vessels,  carrying  nearly  three 
thousand  cannons,  with  numerous  troops  and  the  flower  of  the  Span- 
ish chivalry.  Nothing  was  spared  to  secure  the  success  of  the  expe- 
dition; England  trembled  at  the  approach  of  this  powerful  armament: 
but  she  was  soon  relieved  from  her  fears  by  the  intrepidity  and  skill 
of  her  admirals.  They  carefully  shunned  a  general  action,  confining 
themselves  to  partial  engagements,  in  which  they  were  constantly 
successful.  After  the  Spaniards  had  begun  to  suffer  various  losses 
by  this  mode  of  warfare,  a  multitude  of  incidents  aided  the  exertions 
of  the  English,  and  a  series  of  violent  storms  completed  the  defeat  of 
the  Armada  (A.  D.  1588). 

The  loss  of  the  Spaniards  in  this  unhappy  expedition  was  aston- 
ishing; but  it  produced  not  the  least  effect  upon  Philip,  who  received 
the  disastrous  intelligence  with  as  much  tranquillity  as  he  would 
have  done  that  of  a  signal  triumph.  "I  had,"  said  he,  f'sent  my 
fleet  to  fight  against  the  English,  and  not  against  the  winds.  Let 
the  will  of  God  be  done.  I  thank  him  that  he  has  given  me  so  many 
resources  to  repair  this  disaster." 


WAR  AGAINST  THE  TURKS.— SIEGE  OF  MALTA.— LOSS  05 
CYPRUS.— BATTLE  OF  LEPANTO.— A.  D.  1560—1571. 


WE  may  now  revert  to  the  affairs  of  the  Turks,  and  to  their  new 
efforts  against  the  Christian  nations.  At  the  time  when  Philip  II 
began  to  rule  over  Spain,  Soliman,  the  conqueror  of  Rhodes  and 
Belgrade,  was  still  seated  on  the  throne  of  Constantinople.  A  war 
having  arisen  between  these  two  mighty  sovereigns  for  the  posses- 
sion of  Tripoli  in  Africa,  a  great  naval  battle  was  fought  in  1560,  in 
which  the  Turks  were  completely  victorious.  This  success  embold- 
ened Soliman  to  undertake  other  conquests ;  and  resentment  urged 
him  to  attack  once  more  the  knights  of  St.  John,  the  greatest  ene- 
mies of  his  power,  and  to  drive  them,  if  possible,  from  the  new  resi- 
d^n^e  which  the  liberality  of  Charles  V  had  conferred  on  their  Order, 
Accordingly,  an  army  composed  of  forty  thousand  choice  troops, 
under  the  command  of  three  able  generals,  Mustapha,  Piali  and  Dra 
gut,  was  landed  in  1565  on  the  shores  of  Malta,  and  immediately  began 
a  siege  which,  from  the  uninterrupted  vigor  of  the  attack  and  defence 
33* 


390  MODERN   HISTORY.  Pan  VII, 

during  the  space  of  four  months,  may  be  reckoned  the  most  memo 
rable  event  of  this  kind  recorded  in  history. 

The  number  of  the  knights  and  soldiers  in  the  whole  island  did 
not  exceed  nine  or  ten  thousand  men;  but  the  Grand-Master,  John 
Parisot  de  la  Valette,  was  a  host  in  himself.  This  worthy  successor 
of  Peter  d'Aubusson  and  Villiers  de  I'Isle-Adam,  had,  like  them,  a 
mind  incapable  of  fear  even  amidst  the  greatest  dangers,  a  wonderful 
prudence  and  ability  much  improved  by  experience,  and  an  intrepid 
valor  constantly  animated  by  religious  and  patriotic  principles.  The 
plan  which  he  adopted  from  the  beginning  of  the  siege,  and  which 
he  followed  up  with  unshaken  constancy,  was  to  defend,  by  the  most 
vigorous  exertions,  every  fort,  every  post,  every  inch  of  ground, 
against  all  the  efforts  of  the  Turks,  hoping  in  this  manner  so  to  ha- 
rass them  and  diminish  their  numbers,  as  finally  to  compel  them  to 
evacuate  the  island. 

In  consequence  of  this  noble  determination,  sharp  skirmishes  daily 
took  place,  retarding  the  progress  of  the  assailants.  A  little  fort, 
called  St.  Elme,  stopped  their  whole  army  for  several  weeks;  nor 
could  they  take  it  except  by  sacrificing  eight  thousand  of  their  bravest 
warriors;  which  made  one  of  their  greatest  generals  exclaim :  "If 
the  son  has  given  us  so  much  trouble,  what  must  we  expect  from  the 
father!"  The  garrison  of  that  fort,  composed  of  a  few  knights  and 
some  hundred  soldiers,  exhibited  a  spectacle  never  seen  before.  They 
not  only  repelled  the  continual  assaults  of  the  Janizaries,  as  long,  as 
succor  could  be  sent  to  them  by  the  Grand-Master;  but,  even  when 
all  communication  was  cut  off,  and  when  they  were  reduced  to  a 
small  band,  they  continued,  though  wounded  and  scarcely  able  to 
move,  to  defend  the  breach  against  thousands  of  assailants.  As  loss 
of  blood  and  complete  exhaustion  did  not  permit  some  of  them  any 
longer  to  fight  standing  and  with  one  hand  only,  they  sat  upon  chairs 
and  benches,  and,  wielding  their  swords  with  both  hands,  combated 
to  their  last  breath.  Fort  St.  Elme  was  not  taken,  till  after  the 
death  of  all  the  knights  who  had  generously  devoted  themselves  to  its 
defence. 

Still  more  awful  and  bloody  was  the  struggle,  when  directed 
against  the  principal  forts  of  the  island,  and  against  the  town  in 
which  most  of  the  knights  resided.  Desperate  courage  on  the  one 
side,  undaunted  intrepidity  on  the  other,  daily  rendered  the  ram- 
parts of  Malta  a  theatre  of  unparalleled  feats  of  arms.  The  energy  of 
the  Grand-Master  seemed  to  have  been  transfused  into  the  souls  of 
his  brave  companions,  and  the  valor  of  the  knights  to  have  commu- 
nicated itself  to  all  the  inhabitants;  and  such  was  the  admiration 
wmch  the  spectacle  of  their  noble  heroism  excited,  that  all  classes  of 
llie  people  wished  to  partake  in  their  glorious  exploits.  Thus,  on' 


A.  D.  1560-1571.     WAR  AGAINST  THE  TURKS.  391 

one  occasion,  a  band  of  some  hundred  boys,  with  their  slings,  greatly 
contributed  lo  repel  a  furious  assault;  on  another,  two  sailors  con- 
trived the  best  measure  to  defeat  one  of  the  most  dangerous  attacks 
of  the  infidels.  Persons  of  every  age  and  condition  labored  day  and 
night  in  repairing  the  walls,  or  making  new  intrenchments,  without 
being  frightened  by  the  scenes  of  carnage,  and  by  the  sight  of  th<» 
dead  and  of  the  dying.  Even  females,  forgetting  their  usual  timidity 
went  forward  to  help  their  fathers,  husbands  or  sons,  and  fearlessly 
appearing  upon  the  breach,  threw  upon  the  assailants  boiling  watei 
and  oil,  melted  pitch,  fire-works,  and  even  large  stones,  which  they 
would  not  have  been  able  to  move  in  any  other  circumstance. 

As  to  the  Grand-Master,  besides  continually  watching  every  motion 
of  the  enemy,  and  properly  directing  all  the  efforts  of  the  besieged,  he 
seemed  to  multiply  himself,  in  order  to  be  present  at  every  attack.  The 
imminent  danger  of  death,  which  he  braved  a  thousand  times,  never 
caused  him  any  fear  or  disturbance.  Having,  in  one  of  the  assaults, 
received  a  deep  wound,  he  generously  disregarded  it,  and  continued 
fighting  until  the  Turks  were  repelled.  At  another  time,  his  nephew, 
a  brave  knight,  whom  he  very  tenderly  loved,  was  killed  at  a  short 
distance  from  him;  La  Valette  contented  himself  with  saying:  "To- 
morrow we  shall  have  time  to  weep  for  the  loss  of  my  nephew;  let 
us  now  avenge  his  death,  by  forcing  our  enemies  to  fly."  Being  told 
that  Mustapha,  the  commander-in-chief  of  the  Turks,  had  sworn  to 
put  all  the  knights  to  the  sword,  and  preserve  the  Grand-Master 
alone,  to  bring  him  before  the  sultan,  "I  will  prevent  him  from  doing 
that,"  coolly  replied  La  Valette:  "if,  contrary  to  my  expectation, 
the  result  of  the  siege  should  prove  fatal  to  us,  rather  than  suffer 
myself  to  be  taken  prisoner,  I  would  put  on  the  dress  of  a  common 
soldier,  throw  myself  into  the  thickest  bands  of  the  enemy,  and  fight 
until  a  glorious  death  should  unite  me  to  my  brethren." 

This  noble  intrepidity,  ably  seconded  by  the  undaunted  courage 
of  the  knights,  and  the  Maltese  soldiers,  could  scarcely  fail  to  be 
crowned  at  last  with  full  success.  Yet,  the  Turks  were  not  dispirited ; 
and  for  a  long  time  they  seemed  to  derive  new  strength  and  ardor 
from  their  very  defeats,  their  shame  at  not  having  hitherto  been  able 
to  subdue  a  handful  of  warriors,  making  them  perform  prodigies  of 
ealor.  Besides  having  recourse  to  the  ordinary  modes  of  warfare, 
they  every  day  invented  new  engines  to  annoy  the  besieged.  Some- 
times, by  means  of  powerful  machines,  they  threw  barrels  filled  with 
gun-powder  and  case  shot,  so  prepared  as  to  burst  upon  the  ramparts 
and  spread  death  among  their  foes.  On  other  occasions,  they  pushed 
forward  to  the  walls  wooden  towers,  from  the  tops  of  which  their 
musketeers  might,  with  deadly  aim,  shoot  down  every  human  being 
that  appeared  upon  the  breach.  The  besieged,  on  their  ^ide  vere 


392  MODERN    HISTORY.  Part  vn. 

not  idle  in  their  endeavors  to  prevent  the  effects  of  these  murderous 
machines,  either  destroying  them  by  the  brisk  fire  of  their  artillery, 
or  even  turning  them  against  their  very  contrivers.  It  was  an  awful 
spectacle  to  see  the  fatal  barrels,  before  they  had  time  to  burst,  hurled 
back  upon  the  assailants,  the  wooden  towers  dashed  in  pieces,  the 
ladders  broken,  and  numbers  of  Janizaries  crushed  to  death  at  the 
foot  of  the  ramparts. 

Not  only  did  Mustapha,  in  these  daily  conflicts,  lose  many  of  his 
bravest  soldiers,  he  had  moreover  the  most  gloomy  prospect  before 
him.  Instead  of  reducing  the  inhabitants  of  Malta  by  famine,  as  he 
had,  for  a  time,  hoped  to  do,  he  began  to  feel  the  want  of  provisions 
and  ammunition  in  his  own  camp.  He  moreover  supposed  the  defen- 
ders of  the  besieged  places  to  be  much  more  numerous  than  they 
really  were;  and  concluding  that  it  was  quite  useless  to  continue  the 
attack  against  the  maritime  forts,  he  turned  -his  efforts  against  the  city 
called  Notable,  the  capital  of  the  whole*  island.  Here  also  his  hopes 
were  entirely  frustrated.  In  his  perplexity,  he  resolved  to  resume 
the  operations  of  the  former  siege;  when  a  body  of  troops,  which  had 
been  promised  by  the  king  of  Spain,  at  length  arrived  from  Sicily. 
Although  it  consisted  of  only  seven  thousand  men,  this  number  was 
sufficient  to  raise  the  siege.  Despondency  and  consternation  had 
already  begun  to  spread  among  the  Turks;  panic  and  despair  suc- 
ceeded ;  and,  after  a  single  powerless  discharge  of  musketry,  they 
hastily  fled  to  the  shore  and  reembarked  for  Constantinople. 

An  end  was  thus  put  to  the  harassing  and  sanguinary  conflict. 
At  the  arrival  of  the  auxiliary  troops  and  the  departure  of  the  enemy, 
there  remained,  in  the  residence  of  the  knights,  not  more  than  six 
hundred  men  able  to  bear  arms,  and  even  most  of  that  number  had 
received  many  wounds.  The  Spanish  and  Sicilian  allies  could  not 
refrain  from  tears  at  the  sight  of  these  truly  invincible,  but  disfigured 
and  emaciated  warriors ;  their  beards  and  hair  were  in  a  dreadful  state ; 
their  garments,  owing  to  the  length  of  time  that  they  had  not  been 
changed,  were  falling  to  pieces,  and  covered  with  dust  and  gore.  It 
was  impossible,  at  such  a  spectacle,  not  to  mingle  lively  feelings  of 
compassion  with  the  transports  of  joy  caused  by  so  happy  a  delive- 
rance. In  order  to  transmit  to  posterity  an  authentic  memorial  of 
these  surprising  events,  the  small  town,  around  which  so  many 
exploits  had  been  achieved,  received  the  appellation  of  victorious  ciVy, 
which  it  still  retains. 

A  great  and  truly  noble  object  now  occupied  the  mind  of  La  Va- 
lette.    In  consequence  of  the  furious  siege  just  ended,  most  of  the 
houses  and  fortifications  were  destroyed,  the  cannons  were  broken  to 
pieces  or  greatly  damaged,  the  stores  and  arsenals  were  without  am 
munition,  the  coffers  without  money,  the  forts  without  sufficient  gar- 


A.  D.  1560-1571.    WAR  AGAINST  THE  TURKS.  393 

risons,  and  those  parts  of  the  country  which  :Jad  been  the  theatre  of 
the  war,  almost  without  inhabitants;  in  a  word,  Malta  was  in  such 
a  state  of  desolation,  that  the  bravest  knights  lost  all  hope  of  evei  see- 
ing it  recover  its  former  prosperity,  and  expressed  a  desire  that  Sicily 
should  be  selected  as  the  residence  of  the  Order.  But  the  Grand- 
Master,  who,  even  in  the  utmost  distress,  had  never  consented  to 
yield  any  thing,  was  much  less  willing  now  to  abandon  that  glorious 
soil  so  well  fitted  to  produce  new  laurels.  All  the  Christian  princes 
applauded  his  magnanimous  sentiments,  and  readily  assisted  him  in 
carrying  out  his  views.  Having  therefore  chosen  a  favorable  spot, 
ne  laid  the  foundation  of  a  new  city,  which  he  destined  to  become 
the  principal  seat  of  the  Order  of  St.  John;  and  the  work  was  prose- 
cuted with  so  much  diligence  and  activity,  as  to  be  nearly  completed 
in  the  space  of  five  years.  The  city  took  the  name  of  her  illustrious 
founder,  La  Valelte,  and  being  protected  both  by  nature  and  art,  was 
deservedly  reputed  the  strongest  place  in  Europe. 

The  intelligence  of  his  army's  defeat  threw  Soliman  into  a  pa> 
roxysm  of  rage;  he  trampled  under  foot  the  letter  of  his  general, 
and  swore  vengeance  against  the  Christians.  He  however  thought 
it  prudent  not  to  attack  again  the  heroes  of  Malta,  and  rather  chose  to 
vent  his  resentment  against  the  Christian  islands  of  the  Archipelago. 
Afterwards,  the  indefatigable  sultan  led  his  Janizaries,  for  the  fourth 
time,  into  Hungary  (A.  D.  1566).  The  storm  at  this  period  burst 
upon  Sigeth,  a  small,  but  well  fortified  town,  whose  brave  garrison 
of  three  thousand  men,  and  its  intrepid  commander,  Count  Nicolas 
Serini,  bound  themselves  by  a  solemn  oath,  if  they  could  not  conquer, 
at  least  to  die  together  in  defence  of  their  religion  and  their  country. 
Never  was  there  a  generous  promise  better  and  more  resolutely  ful- 
filled. For  the  space  of  two  months,  they  successfully  resisted  an 
army  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  Turks,  destroying  upwards 
of  thirty  thousand  of  the  foremost  among  the  assailants.  At  last, 
finding  their  own  number  reduced  to  two  hundred  and  fifty,  they 
threw  open  the  gates  of  the  fortress,  and  rushed  into  the  midst  of 
the  Janizaries,  where  they  all  fell  whilst  fighting  with  desperate  cou- 
rage; only  two  soldiers,  who  were  left  for  dead  on  the  field  of  battle, 
afterwards  recovered  from  their  wounds.  Thus  Sigeth  fell  under  the 
power  of  the  Turks,  but  not  until  it  had  become,  as  it  were,  a  heap  of 
ruins,  without  any  one  left  to  defend  it  any  longer.  Soliman  had  not 
the  satisfaction  to  see  the  end  of  that  destructive  siege;  his  disap- 
pointment, roused  to  fury  by  so  obstinate  a  resistance,  brought  on  an 
attack  of  apoplexy,  of  which  he  died  three  days  before  the  last  con- 
flict. As,  however,  the  ultimate  result  was  the  consequence  of  his 
exertions,  rte  capture  of  Sigeth  may  be  justly  accounted  as  one  of 


394  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Part  ViL 


the  exploits,  and  as  the  last,  but  dearly-bought  victory  of  that  re- 
nowned sultan. 

Although  implicit  credit  should  not  be  given  to  all  the  encomiums 
bestowed  on  Soliman  by  the  Turkish  writers,  since  various  instances 
of  cruelty  and  restless  ambition  are  found  in  his  life,  which  are  a 
stain  on  his  memory;  still  it  must  be  confessed  that  his  reign  \\MS, 
at  least,  one  of  the  most  brilliant  and  successful  of  the  Ottoman  dy- 
nasty. This  prince  nearly  equalled  Charles  V,  his  cotemporary,  in 
activity,  prudence  and  warlike  genius.  A  famous  conqueror  and  a 
great  general  in  the  field,  he  was  also  an  able  politician  and  a  wise 
legislator  at  home;  he  left  behind  him  many  useful  institutions;  he 
embellished  Constantinople,  built  a  powerful  navy,  protected  learn 
ing,  and,  by  his  munificence,  justice  and  liberality,  not  only  secured 
to  his  person  and  goverment  the  respect  of  his  Mahometan  subjects, 
but  even  on  many  occasions  was  an  object  of  admiration  totheChris- 
stians  themselves. 

Selim  II,  who  succeeded  Soliman  on  the  Turkish  throne,  did  no< 
possess  the  military  qualities  of  most  of  his  predecessors,  and  yet  suc- 
cessfully carried  on  their  plan  of  aggrandizement  and  conquest 
Looking  with  a  jealous  eye  at  the  rich  island  of  Cyprus,  then  in  the 
possession  of  the  Venetians,  he  equipped  a  numerous  fleet  and  army, 
in  order  to  bring  it  under  his  power.  The  greater  part  of  the  country 
surrendered  without  opposition,  Nicosia  and  Famagusta  being  the 
only  places  that  ventured  to  sustain  a  siege.  The  former  was  taken 
at  the  expiration  of  seven  weeks;  the  latter  held  out  four  months, 
during  which  the  Turks  lost,  it  is  said,  forty  thousand  men,  and  were 
obliged  to  fire  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  cannon  balls.  They 
sullied  their  victory  by  shocking  cruelties,  and  the  defenders  of  Cy- 
prus expiated  in  tortures  the  guilt  of  their  vigorous  resistance.  Above 
all,  the  resentment  of  the  infidels  vented  itself  on  the  intrepid  comman- 
der of  Famagusta,  Marc  Antony  Bragadino,  whose  heroism  on  that 
occasion  will  be  remembered  by  the  latest  posterity.  This  great  man, 
being,  contrary  to  the  terms  of  the  capitulation,  cairied  into  captivity, 
experienced  the  most  barbarous  treatment  from  the  Turkish  general, 
Mustapha,  and  was  finally  flayed  alive,  without  betraying  the  least 
symptom  of  pain,  but  piously  reciting  the  fiftieth  psalm,  until  he  ex- 
pired in  the  hands  of  the  executioner. 

This  barbarity  of  the  Turks  roused  the  indignation,  while  their  in 
creasing  power  excited  the  fears,  of  Christendom.  To  avert  the  dan 
ger  which  threatened  at  once  religion  and  civilization  in  Europe, 
Pope  Pius  V  exerted  all  his  faculties,  authority  and  zeal.  He,  on 
one  hand,  by  letters  and  embassies,  procured  the  conclusion  of  a 
powerful  league,  consisting  of  his  own  states,  the  kingdom  of  Spain 
and  the  republic  of  Venice;  on  th?  other  hand,  he  endeavored  to  se- 


*.  D.  1560-1571.  WAR    AGAINST  THE    TURKS.  395 

cure  victory  to  their  cause  by  fervent  supplications,  and  by  ordering 
the  dismissal  from  the  Christian  host  of  all  persons  whose  vices  and 
immorality  might  provoke  the  wrath  of  heaven.  This  being  done, 
the  combined  fleet,  consisting  of  about  two  hundred  and  forty  vessels, 
under  the  command  of  Don  Juan  of  Austria,  a  half  brother  to  Philip 
II,  went  in  search  of  the  Turkish  fleet,  which  was  still  more  nume- 
rous. The  belligerent  parties  came  in  sight  in  the  gulf  of  Lepanto; 
and  nearly  on  the  same  spot  where  Augustus  and  Antony  had  for- 
merly contended  for  the  Roman  empire,  were  the  Christians  and  the 
Mussulmans  now  about  to  fight  for  the  possession  of  Europe. 

The  seventh  of  October  1571,  witnessed  one  of  the  most  terrible 
naval  battles  recorded  in  history.  For  several  hours  the  conflict  all 
along  the  line  was  awful,  and  victory  uncertain.  At  length,  the  per- 
severing courage  of  the  confederates,  the  intrepidity  of  Don  Juan  and 
other  generals,  their  superior  skill  in  naval  and  military  tactics,  in 
fine,  a  strong  and  favorable  breeze  which  arose  just  at  the  beginning 
of  the  battle,  and  carried  clouds  of  smoke  towards  the  Turks,  gave 
the  Christians  a  decisive  victory.  The  fierce  Ottomans  lost  in  that 
memorable  action  thirty-five  thousand  soldiers,  witli  their  admiral  and 
chief  officers,  fifteen  thousand  Christian  slaves,  about  two  hundred 
and  fifty  men-of-war  and  galleys,  three  hundred  and  seventy-two 
large  guns,  and  an  immense  booty  with  which  their  vessels  were 
loaded.* 

So  signal  an  overthrow  every  where  spread  terror  and  dismay 
among  the  Turks,  particularly  in  Constantinople;  whereas  the  vic- 
tory of  the  confederates  filled  the  Christian  world  with  exultation. 
In  Rome,  Toledo,  and  other  places,  it  was  celebrated  with  extraor- 
dinary rejoicings;  the  Venetians,  above  all,  manifested  their  enthu- 
siasm by  forbidding  any  one  to  mourn  for  the  loss  of  those  who  had 
perished  in  the  glorious  conflict.  The  conquerors,  it  is  true,  did  not 
know  how  to  pursue  and  improve  their  victory  as  much  as  might  have 
been  expected;  yet,  it  cannot  be  denied  that  its  result  was  of  an  im- 
mense advantage,  since  it  proved  not  only  a  check  to  the  progress  of 
the  Ottomans,  but  was  also  die  beginning  of  their  decline,  at  least  as 
a  maritime  power. 

*  A  more  detailed  account  of  the  battle  of  Lepanto  may  be  found  in 
Univers.  Hist.  vol.  LX; — Mignot,  Hist,  de  V Empire  Ottoman  (reign  of  Se- 
lim  n) ; — Hist,  du  Bas-Empire,  continuee  par  Jlmeilhon,  vol.  xxvn; — also 
in  the  Eccles.  historians,  Be*raut-Bercastel,  and  Fleury,  or  rather  his  con- 
tinuator,  ad  ann.  1571 ;  and  Aiban  Butler's  Life  of  St.  Pius  V,  under  the 
fifth  of  May,  with  the  notes. 


396  MODERN  HISTORY.  Part  VLI 


PHILIP  II  CONTINUED.— THE  REPUBLIC  OF  HOLLAND.— 
FRANCE  UNDER  THE  LAST  VALOIS  AND  HENRY  IV.— 
GENERAL  STATE  OF  EUROPE  IN  THE  BEGINNING  OF 
THE  SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY.— A.  D.  1566—1618. 


THE  prosecution  of  the  Turkish  war  did  not  occupy  the  whole  at- 
tention of  Philip  II  j  he  was  also,  during  the  same  period,  and  for 
many  years  after,  engaged  in  a  series  of  hostilities  against  Holland. 
That  country,  which  had  been  dependent  on  Spain  ever  since  the  ac- 
cession of  Charles  V,  began  openly  to  shake  off  the  yoke  in  1566, 
under  the  pretence  of  political  and  religious  tyranny.  Neither  the 
severity  of  the  duke  of  Alva,  nor  the  abilities  of  Don  Juan,  nor  the  he- 
roic qualities  of  Alexander  Farnese,  duke  of  Parma,  could  reestab- 
lish in  it  the  Spanish  domination ;  and,  in  spite  both  of  conferences 
and  arms,  the  republic  of  Holland,  or  of  the  Seven  United  Provin«es, 
was  proclaimed  in  1581.  It  rapidly  increased  during  the  first  part  of 
the  following  century j  and,  by  uniting  an  active  spirit  of  trade  ami 
maritime  enterprise  with  great  military  skill  and  numerous  exploits 
on  land,  it  acquired  such  prosperity,  wealth  and  power,  as  frequently 
to  counterbalance  the  influence  of  the  mightiest  sovereigns  of  Eu- 
rope. However,  it  was  not  universally  acknowledged  as  a  free  and 
independent  state  before  the  year  1648,  in  the  treaty  of  Westphalia. 

The  Spanish  monarch  was  more  successful  in  his  expedition 
against  Portugal.  Not  long  before,  under  the  reign  of  Emmanuel 
and  John  III,  this  kingdom  had  reached  the  height  of  opulence  and 
glory.  One  single  act  of  imprudence  on  the  part  of  the  young  king 
Don  Sebastian,  in  1578,  caused  it  not  only  to  fall  from  the  high  rank 
which  it  held  among  European  nations,  but  even  to  lose  for  a  time 
its  independence.  Contrary  to  the  advice  of  his  wisest  counsellor?, 
that  impetuous  monarch  obstinately  wished  to  engage  in  an  expedition 
against  some  princes  in  Africa.  A  battle  was  fought,  in  which  he 
displayed  surprising  valor,  but  finally  met  with  a  complete  over- 
throw: the  Portuguese  troops  were  cut  to  pieces,  and  he  himself 
disappeared,  and  was  never  seen  afterwards.  As  he  left  no  issue, 
the  crown  of  Portugal  was  claimed  by  many  competitors,  who  pre- 
pared to  support  their  pretensions  by  recourse  to  law,  or  by  force  of 
arms ;  but  Philip  of  Spain,  who  was  beyond  comparison  the  most 
powerful  of  all  the  aspirants  to  the  throne,  overcame  his  rivals.  Por- 
tugal was  subdued  in  one  campaign,  and,  with  its  numerous  settle- 
ments in  other  parts  of  the  globe,  remained  annexed  to  the  Spanish 
monarchy  during  sixty  years,  viz:  from  1580  to  1640,  when  a  sud 
den  and  successful  revolution  restored  it  to  its  native  princes. 


A.  D.  1568-1618.     PHILIP  II  CONTINUED,  ETC.  397 

By  the  addition  of  Portugal  and  its  appendages  to  his  hereditary 
dominions,  Philip  II  became  the  sovereign  of  the  most  extensive 
monarchy  that  had  hitherto  existed.  Several  countries  of  Europe 
and  Asia,  and  nearly  all  the  regions  of  America  until  then  discovered, 
obeyed  his  laws ;  hence  he  was  used  to  say,  and  with  truth,  that  the 
sun  never  set  on  all  his  dominions  at  once.  Nor  was  his  mind  un- 
equal to  the  task  of  regulating  so  vast  and  so  complicated  a  machine. 
He  was  continually  watching  over  the  different  provinces  of  his 
amazing  monarchy,  there  being  no  department  of  the  public  adminis- 
tration with  which  he  was  not  familiarly  acquainted,  no  affair  of  im- 
portance to  which  he  did  not  personally  attend,  no  minister  of  state, 
no  general  of  his  army,  whose  public  conduct  he  did  not  diligently 
observe,  in  order  to  keep  all  within  the  bounds  of  duty. 

Philip  moreover  exercised  a  considerable  influence  over  the  other 
states  of  Europe,  particularly  France;  he  even  cherished  for  a  long 
time  the  hope  of  placing  one  of  his  children  upon  the  French  throne. 
That  kingdom,  after  the  vigorous  reign  of  Henry  II,  had  fallen  into 
a  deplorable  state  under  his  weak  succcessors,  Francis  II,  Charles 
IX,  and  Henry  III,  owing  chiefly  to  an  almost  uninterrupted  series 
of  civil  wars  between  the  Catholics,  who  wished  to  maintain  the 
ancient  faith,  and  the  Huguenots  or  Calvinists,  who  were  anxious  to 
establish  their  own  religious  system.  The  evil  was  increased,  in 
1572,  by  the  massacre  on  St.  Bartholomew's  day,  in  which  many 
hundred  Protestants  were,  by  an  act  of  cruel  retaliation,  immolated 
to  the  resentment  and  vengeance  of  the  court.*  At  the  death  of 
Henry  III,  who  fell  by  the  sword  of  an  assassin  in  1589,  Philip  II 
endeavored,  by  every  means  in  his  power,  to  exclude  the  nearest 
heir,  Henry  of  Bourbon  and  Navarre,  who  was  a  Protestant,  from  a 
throne  which  had  always  been  occupied  by  Catholic  monarchs;  bul 
the  many  victories  of  Henry,  enhanced  by  his  truly  royal  qualities, 
and  finally  his  return  to  the  Catholic  Church/}"  baffled  the  projects 
and  frustrated  the  hopes  of  the  Spanish  sovereign.  All  obstacles 
were  removed  in  1595,  and  the  king  of  Navarre,  the  head  of  the 
Bourbon  family,  was  universally  acknowledged  king  of  France  undei 
the  name  of  Henry  IV ;  a  name,  notwithstanding  the  individual  frail 
ties  of  the  monarch,  ever  to  be  held  in  grateful  remembrance  for  the 

*  See  note  N. 

|  The  conversion  of  Henry  IV  was  not,  as  the  infidel  Voltaire  presumed 
to  assert,  owing  to  political  and  interested  motives,  but  the  fruit  of  doctri- 
nal conferences  held  in  his  presence.  Having  asked  the  Protestant  divines 
whether  he  could  be  saved  in  the  Catholic  religion,  and  being  answered  in 
the  affirmative,  he  concluded  that  it  was  undoubtedly  the  safer  step  to  be- 
come a  Catholic.  He  immediately  began  to  act  up  to  this  conclusion ;  and 
from  that  time,  never  ceased  to  evince  the  most  sincere  and  strong  attach- 
ment to  the  faith  which  he  had  embraced. 
34 


398  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Part  VII 


return  of  happiness  and  prosperity  which  it  secured  to  this  long 
afflicted  kingdom. 

In  the  mean  time,  Philip  II,  worn  down  by  age,  infirmity  and  toil, 
was  called  from  this  world,  and  left  his  immense  possessions  to  his 
son  Philip  III.  His  last  moments,  amidst  the  acute  pains  of  a  com- 
plicated disease,  more  and  more  manifested  that  firmness  and  energy 
of  character  which  he  had  so  frequently  displayed  during  his  long 
career.  He  died,  after  a  reign  of  forty -two  years,  on  the  thirteenth 
of  September  (A.  D.  1598).  Five  years  later,  the  famous  queen  of 
England,  Elizabeth,  also  departed  this  life,  and  was  succeeded  by  the 
son  of  the  unfortunate  Mary  Stuart,  James  of  Scotland,  who  was 
really  the  nearest  heir  to  the  British  throne,  when  the  posterity  of  Henry 
VIII  became  extinct  by  the  death  of  Elizabeth.  Being  the  first  who 
reigned  over  the  united  kingdoms  of  England,  Ireland  and  Scotland, 
James,  on  that  account,  took  the  title  of  King  of  Great  Britain. 

Under  these  new  and  pacific  sovereigns,  Europe,  generally  speak- 
ing, enjoyed  a  profound  peace  during  the  first  part  of  the  seventeenth 
century.  Still,  a  violent  storm  was  preparing  against  the  house  of 
Austria,  whose  preponderance  destroyed,  in  the  opinion  of  many, 
the  necessary  equilibrium  among  the  monarchs  of  Europe.  It  was 
the  desire  of  the  neighboring  princes,  and  particularly  of  the  French 
king,  to  weaken  her  power,  and  great  preparations  were  already 
made  for  that  purpose,  when  Henry  IV  fell  by  the  poniard  of  a  base 
assassin,  on  the  fourteenth  of  May,  in  the  year  1610. 

This  tragical  event  delayed  for  a  time  the  project  of  the  confede- 
rates, and  plunged  France  into  the  deepest  affliction.  At  the  news 
of  Henry's  death,  all  labor  ceased;  commerce  was  interrupted;  in 
the  towns,  especially  in  the  capital,  nothing  was  heard  but  sobs  and 
lamentations,  and  country  people  were  seen  to  shed  torrents  of  tears, 
thus  testifying  their  gratitude  for  the  truly  paternal  affection  which 
the  good  king  had  always  manifested  for  this  class  of  his  subjects. 
It  was  his  wish  that  they  could  have  a  fowl  to  eat  every  Sunday, 
and  his  delight  to  talk  with  them  about  their  toils,  their  profits  and 
losses,  and  even  their  smallest  concerns.  In  a  word,  to  promote  the 
happiness  of  his  people  may  truly  be  said  to  have  been  his  predomi- 
nant passion ;  hence  we  need  not  wonder  that  he  conciliated  to  him- 
self the  love  of  the  French  nation,  and  won  the  admiration  of  all 
ages  and  countries.  Even  at  present,  the  name  of  Henry  IV  reminds 
every  one  of  a  gracious,  mild  and  beneficent  king,  who  rendered 
himself  still  more  commendable  for  the  generosity  of  his  feelings, 
than  for  all  his  other  princely  and  royal  qualities. 


A.  D.  1618-1648.    THE    THIRTY    YEARS    WAR. 


THE  THIRTY  YEARS  WAR.— A.  D.  1618—1648. 

THE  intended  war  against  the  Austrian  family,  which  had  been 
postponed  on  account  of  the  death  of  Henry  IV,  at  length  broke  out 
in  1618,  and  lasted,  almost  without  interruption,  during  the  space  of 
thirty  years.  Its  commencement  coincides  with  the  beginning  of  the 
reign  of  Ferdinand  II,  an  emperor  whose  magnanimity  and  other 
virtues  won  the  admiration  oven  of  his  enemies.  His  chief  allies 
were  the  king  of  Spain,  his  relative,  the  king  of  Poland,  and  the  duke 
»f  Bavaria :  the  principal  among  the  belligerent  powers  on  the  oppo- 
site side  were,  at  different  times,  Denmark,  Sweden  and  France. 
The  two  first  mentioned  of  these  three  nations  had  hitherto  been  little 
known,  except  from  their  quarrels  with  each  other;  but  they  now 
began  to  take  an  active  pan.  and  to  exert  a  certain  influence  in  the 
general  affairs  of  Europe. 

The  first  manifestation  of  hostility  in  this  sanguinary  contest,  was 
made  by  the  Bohemians,  who  had  revolted  against  the  Austrian 
domination,  and  by  Christian  IV,  king  of  Denmark,  who  supported 
them  with  a  powerful  army;  but  both  the  Danes  and  Bohemians 
were  entirely  overthrown  by  the  imperial  troops.  In  a  few  cam- 
paigns, Tilly  and  Walstein,  two  distinguished  generals,  compelled 
the  enemies  of  Ferdinand  II  to  desist  from  their  hostile  designs,  and 
submit  to  the  conditions  which  he  thought  proper  to  impose  on  them 
(A.  D.  1629). 

Unfortunately,  the  victorious  emperor  refused  to  comprise  Sweden 
in  the  treaty  of  peace.  This  kingdom  was  at  that  time  under  the 
sway  of  Gustavus  Adolphus,  a  young  hero,  with  whose  abilities, 
energy  and  resources  Ferdinand  II  and  his  allies  were  but  slightly 
acquainted.  Deeply  offended  at  the  refusal,  Gustavus  immediately 
prepared  to  renew  the  struggle ;  and,  like  another  Annibal,  resolved 
to  attack  his  enemies  in  the  centre  of  their  possessions.  His  very 
first  appearance  in  the  north  of  Germany,  at  the  head  of  a  brave  and 
well  disciplined  host,  inclined  the  scale  of  fortune  in  his  favor.  All 
fled  before  him,  and  Tilly,  who  attempted  to  stop  his  progress,  was 
himself,  after  an  obstinate  engagement,  completely  defeated  in  the 
plains  of  Leipzic  (A.  D.  1631).  A  second  battle  was  equally  unfa- 
vorable to  that  great  general,  who  died  a  few  days  after  of  his 
wounds,  having  lived,  it  was  said,  one  year  too  long  for  his  reputa- 
tion and  glory. 

Walstein  then  assumed  the  chief  command,  and  hastened  with 
fresh  troops  to  oppose  Gustavus.  The  armies  again  met  near  the 
village  of  Lutzen,  and  fought  with  such  animosity,  that  victory  was 


400  MODERN    HISTORY.  Part  Vll. 

for  a  long  time  doubtful.  At  length,  the  Swedes,  by  uncommon  and 
desperate  efforts,  remained  in  possession  of  the  field,  but  lost  their 
invincible  leader,  who  was  slain  during  the  hottest  part  of  the  action 
(A.  D.  1632).  This  accident  was  more  fatal  to  them,  than  the  defeat 
of  their  army  would  have  been.  For,  although  several  able  com- 
manders, by  order  of  their  senate,  continued  the  war  with  great  vigor, 
yet  they  wanted  his  penetrating  genius;  and  no  later  than  the  yeai 
1634,  the  Swedish  army  was  signally  overthrown  by  the  imperialists 
in  the  battle  of  Nordlingen.  This  victory  of  Ferdinand  raised  his 
party  again,  whereas  the  loss  of  eighteen  thousand  men  weakened 
his  opponents  to  such  a  degree,  that  France,  their  most  powerful 
ally,  was  obliged,  from  that  time,  to  take  the  principal  share  in  the 
prosecution  of  the  war. 

The  French  throne  was,  at  this  period,  occupied  by  the  son  ot 
Henry  IV,  Louis  XIII,  a  just,  bravo  and  religious  prince,  who  had 
given  many  proofs  of  great  personal  courage  and  of  a  successful 
administration.  Louis,  it  is  true,  did  not  seem  much  inclined  of  him- 
self to  make  foreign  conquests ;  but  he  possessed  in  the  person  of 
Cardinal  Richelieu,  a  minister  of  state  equally  skilled  in  conceiving 
mighty  plans,  and  in  carrying  them  into  execution.  This  powerful 
genius  had  hitherto  rendered  very  important  services  to  his  sovereign 
and  country,  by  destroying  the  excessive  power  of  some  of  the  lords, 
and  giving  the  last  blow  to  the  feudal  system;  by  crushing  the  rest- 
lessness of  the  Huguenots,  rooting  out  the  seed  of  new  civil  wars, 
and  subduing  La  Rochelle,  the  principal  seat  of  discontent  and  rebel- 
lion ;  in  fine,  by  establishing  the  French  academy,  and  laying  the 
foundation  of  the  glory  of  the  following  reign.  He  had  just  raised 
the  kingdom  to  this  state  of  prosperity,  when  the  Swedes  experienced 
that  defeat  at  Nordlingen,  which  obliged  their  allies  to  make  greater 
exertions  against  the  common  enemy.  Hostilities  were  now  carried 
on  principally  between  Austria  and  France.  As  each  nation  pos- 
sessed brave  troops  and  skilful  generals,  numberless  exploits  were 
achieved  on  both  sides;  still  no  decisive  action  took  place  for  several 
years,  so  that  neither  the  emperor  Ferdinand  II  on  one  hand,  nor 
Louis  XIII  and  Richelieu  on  the  other,  lived  to  see  the  termination 
of  the  war. 

It  continued  under  Ferdinand  III,  and  during  the  minority  of  the 
young  king  Louis  XIV,  who  began,  at  the  age  of  five,  a  glorious 
reign  which  lasted  seventy-two  years.  Its  very  beginning,  in  1643, 
was  marked  by  a  brilliant  victory.  The  duke  of  Enghien,  better 
known  under  his  subsequent  name  of  the  prince  of  Conde,  had  been, 
a  short  time  before,  placed  at  the  head  of  the  French  army.  The 
first  act  of  his  military  career  was  to  conquer  and  destroy,  near  Ro- 
croy  in  Champagne,  the  formidable  Spanish  infantry  so  renowned 


* 
*.  D.  1625-1660.     CIVIL  WAR  IN  ENGLAND;  ETC.          40] 

for  its  discipline  and  valor  ever  since  the  time  of  King  Ferdinand  V. 
This  victory,  gained  by  a  general  scarcely  twenty-two  years  of  age, 
gave  France  a  decided  superiority,  which  the  same  prince,  together 
with  his  rival  in  glory,  the  marshal  of  Turenne,  strengthened  more 
and  more  by  his  subsequent  triumphs  at  Friburg,  in  1644,  Nordlin- 
gen,  in  1645,  and  Lens,  in  1648.  • 

So  many  victories  for  one  party  and  losses  for  the  other  terminated, 
towards  the  close  of  the  year  1648,  in  the  famous  treaty  of  Munster 
and  Osnaburgh,  commonly  called  the  treaty  of  Westphalia.  By  that 
treaty,  the  authority  of  the  emperor  was  reduced  to  narrower  limits, 
and  by  a  natural  consequence,  which  the  French  plenipotentiaries 
endeavored  in  vain  to  avert,  the  Catholics  lost  much  of  their  influence 
in  Germany.  Holland  was  formally  acknowledged  as  an  independent 
state,  and  valuable  possessions  were  acquired  to  France  and  Sweden. 
Thus  was  peace  restored  in  the  greater  part  of  Europe;  but,  the  treaty 
of  Westphalia  not  having  been  fully  accepted  by  the  Spanish  king, 
Philip  IV,  who  still  cherished  the  hope  of  retrieving  his  late  defeats, 
hostilities  continued  for  some  years  longer  between  him  and  France. 
As  to  England,  she  had  been,  nearly  all  that  time,  too  deeply  engaged 
at  home  by  dissensions  and  civil  wars,  to  take  any  active  share  in 
these  distant  broils  of  continental  Europe. 


CIVIL  WAR  IN  ENGLAND.— COMMONWEALTH.— RESTORA- 
TION.—A.  i>.  1625—1660. 


THE  whole  reign  of  James  I  had  passed  in  comparative  tranquil- 
lity;* but  this  was  rather  a  deceitful  peace,  and  one  of  those  calms 
which  prognosticate  a  storm.  At  his  death  (A.  D.  1625),  he  left  to 
his  son  Charles  I,  an  empty  treasury,  a  refractory  parliament,  a 
kingdom  given  up  to  religious  disputes  and  distracted  by  rival  socie- 
ties, the  principal  of  which  were  the  Episcopalians  or  Anglicans  and 
the  Presbyterians  or  Puritans.  James  had  always  desired  to  put  down 
the  latter  of  these  two  parties,  but  he  left  the  work  to  be  accomplished, 

*  It  was  under  this  reis;n  that  some  infuriated  persons,  nominal  Catholics, 
formed  the  horrid  project,  called  the  gun-powder  plot,  of  blowing  up  the 
parliament-house  during  the  session.  The  plot  was  detected,  and  its 
authors  met  with  condign  punishment :  unfortunately,  several  innocent  per- 
sons were  involved  in  their  ruin,  and  prejudice  went  so  far  as  to  throw  the 
blame  upon  the  whole  body  of  Catholics ;  as  if  Catholics  at  large  could  be 
accountable  for  the  conduct  of  a  few  desperadoes  whose  plot  they  never 
knew — or  the  code  of  Catholic  principles  answerable  for  a  crime  which  it 
always  condemned  and  abhorred ! 
84* 


402  MODERN  HISTORY. 


lart  V1L 


if  possible,  by  hb  successor;  and  when  Charles  made  the  attempt,  h« 
met  with  a  resistance  which  proved  the  cause  of  his  own  ruin. 

An  order  had  been  issued  for  the  general  adoption  of  the  Anglican 
doctrine  and  liturgy  even  in  Scotland.  The  Puritans,  who  were 
numerous  and  powerful  there,  boldly  opposed  the  royal  decrees,  and 
swore  to  defend  their  manner  of  worship  against  every  attack,  from 
whatever  quarter  it  might  proceed.  In  order  to  quell  the  insurrec- 
tion, Charles  marshalled  an  army,  and  led  it  towards  the  frontiers; 
still,  yielding  to  his  inclination  for  peace,  he  consented  to  come  to 
an  agreement  with  the  Scots,  though  at  the  risk  of  diminishing  his 
authority.  This  act  of  condescension,  instead  of  dissolving  the  Scot- 
tish covenant,  seemed  rather  to  give  it  new  strength;  and  the  cove- 
nanters grew  bolder  than  ever,  especially  when  they  saw  their  cause 
openly  supported  by  the  English  parliament,  which  was  still  more 
opposed  to  the  court  than  themselves. 

This  parliament  seemed  absolutely  resolved  to  thwart  the  monarch 
in  all  his  views,  and  to  strip  the  crown  of  its  best  prerogatives. 
Charles  yielded  on  many  points ;  but,  finding  all  his  condescension 
of  no  avail  in  reestablishing  concord  and  tranquillity,  and  moreover, 
never  receiving  the  necessary  subsidies,  he  had  recourse  to  arms, 
and  summoned  around  him  those  who  were  still  attached  to  his 
person,  his  government,  or  his  fortunes.  The  parliament  also  raised 
troops;  the  exasperation  of  both  parties  burst  into  an  open  flame, 
and  civil  war  in  every  part  of  the  realm  was  the  dire  consequence 
(A.  D.  1642). 

This  revolution  seemed  at  first  favorable  to  Charles,  who  gained  in 
person  great  advantages,  and  forced  one  of  the  parliamentary  armies, 
under  the  command  of  the  earl  of  Essex,  to  capitulate  and  surrender. 
But  these  successes  of  the  royal  cause  were  counteracted  by  the  loss 
of  the  bloody  battle  of  Marston  Moor,  fought  in  the  north  of  England 
(A.  D.  1644) ;  and,  on  the  fourteenth  of  June  of  the  ensuing  year,  the 
still  more  fatal  battle  of  Naseby  deprived  the  king  of  nearly  all  his 
resources.  Believing  that  there  was  no  safer  way  to  escape  from  the 
lury  of  his  enemies  than  to  take  refuge  among  the  Scots,  he  deter- 
mined to  throw  himself  upon  their  loyalty,  and  to  surrender  himself 
into  their  hands.  This  was  running  from  one  danger  into  another; 
the  Scottish  army  (not  the  nation  at  large),  after  a  short  hesitation, 
shamefully  delivered  him  to  the  English  parliament  for  the  sum  of 
four  hundred  thousand  pounds. 

A  new  party  had  now  arisen  in  England,  very  appropriately  called 
the  Independents,  because  in  reality  they  claimed  an  entire  indepen- 
dence in  all  matters  both  civil  and  religious.  At  their  head  were 
Fairfax  and  Cromwell,  two  men  famous  in  the  history  of  those  times, 
the  former  for  his  valor  and  skill  in  the  command  of  armies,*the 


A.  ».  188S-1660.    CIVIL  WAR  IN  ENGLAND,  ETC.  403 

latter  for  his  intriguing  genius  and  uncommon  talent  in  every  sort  of 
political  and  military  transactions.  With  a  boundless  ambition,,  which 
he  artfully  concealed  under  the  veil  of  modesty  and  religious  zeal 
all  means,  whether  just  or  criminal,  were  equally  good  in  his  sight 
provided  they  would  promote  the  object  of  his  designs.  In  a  shou 
time,  his  ability  raised  him  to  the  chief  command  of  the  troops,  his 
refined  intrigues  to  the  first  rank  in  his  party,  and  his  artful  ambition 
to  the  sovereign  power. 

Cromwell  had  contributed  more  than  any  one  to  the  overthrow  of 
.the  royalists  in  the  battles  of  Marston  Moor  and  Naseby.  Possessing, 
on  that  account,  vast  influence  in  the  army,  he  made  himself  master 
of  tbe  king's  person,  and,  confining  him  in  a  prison,  defeated  all  the 
attempts  that  were  made  to  set  him  at  liberty.  Afterwards,  the 
bold  usurper  appointed  a  committee,  which  he  took  care  to  compose 
of  his  warmest  partisans,  for  the  trial  of  the  royal  captive.  Charles 
indeed  refused  to  acknowledge  the  competency  of  that  tribunal,  and 
answered  the  absurd  charges  laid  against  him  by  a  dignified  silence 
or  a  smile  of  contempt;  still,  the  proceedings  went  on  with  unusual 
rapidity:  after  a  mock  examination,  he  was  outlawed,  condemned  to 
death  as  if  he  were  a  foe  to  the  English  nation,  and,  in  fine,  exe- 
cuted in  London  on  the  thirtieth  of  January  (A.  D.  1649).  His  most 
faithful  defenders  and  friends  soon  experienced  the  same  fate;  and 
England  saw  with  dismay  her  most  distinguished  lords  perish  on  the 
scaffold.  On  this  sanguinary  foundation  a  commonwealth  arose  in 
the  place  of  the  ancient  monarchy,  a  new  constitution  was  published, 
and  shortly  after  Cromwell  was  acknowledged  as  head  of  the  govern- 
ment under  the  title  of  Protector. 

In  the  mean  while,  great  and  numerous  were  the  obstacles  which 
he  had  to  encounter  every  where.  No  sooner  had  the  intelligence 
of  the  king's  death  spread  abroad,  than  parties  were  formed  in  Ire- 
land, Scotland,  and  England  itself,  against  the  usurpers.  A  man  of 
ordinary  talents  would  have  sunk  under  these  accumulated  obstacles; 
Cromwell  overcame  them  all  by  his  prudence  and  activity.  After 
giving  in  charge  to  some  of  his  generals  to  quell  the  insurrection  in 
England,  he  himself  rapidly  passed  over  to  Ireland,  compelled  by  the 
superiority  of  his  forces  the  inhabitants  to  submit,  and,  returning 
with  the  same  celerity,  advanced  against  the  Scots,  whom  he  sur- 
prised and  defeated  at  Dunbar  (A.  D.  1650).  This  overthrow  did  not 
prevent  Charles,  the  eldest  son  of  the  late  monarch,  from  penetrating 
into  England  at  the  head  of  fourteen  thousand  men.  But  Cromwell 
closely  followed  him,  met  the  royalists  again  near  Worcester,  and 
gained  over  them  a  complete  and  decisive  victo«$r;  Charles  succeeded, 
with  extreme  difficulty,  in  saving  his  life,  and  escaped  into  France 
by  crossing  the  channel  in  a  boat. 


404  MODERN    HISTORY.  Part  Vn 

Cromwell  returned  in  triumph  to  London,  and  thenceforth  occu- 
pied himself  in  securing  the  prosperity  of  the  realm  by  a  vigorous 
and  wise  administration.  Although  the  government  was  called  a 
republic,  he  acted  more  absolutely  than  perhaps  any  English  king 
had  ever  done,  dissolving  the  parliament  whenever  it  opposed  his 
views  and  measures.  Tranquillity  was  restored  to  England;  litera- 
ture, arts  and  sciences  were  protected,  and  useful  laws  enacted,  as 
well  against  blasphemy  and  luxury,  as  for  the  maintenance  of  order 
and  justice.  Commerce  also  was  revived,  and  the  navy  greatly 
increased. 

Whilst  he  was  thus  securing  the  prosperity  of  his  government  at 
home,  Cromwell  caused  it  to  be  also  respected  abroad.  "  I  wish," 
said  he,  "  to  see  the  British  commonwealth  as  much  honored  by 
other  nations,  as  the  Roman  republic  once  was."  Accordingly,  the 
English  vessels  triumphantly  swept  every  sea;  haughty  conditions 
were  imposed  on  the  rival  powers  of  Europe  ;  and  the  Dutch,  who 
alone  ventured  to  question  the  superiority  of  the  British  flag,  were 
soon  compelled  to  respect  it  in  a  series  of  great  naval  battles,  in  the 
last  of  which  they  lost  their  celebrated  admiral  Van  Tromp. 

Cromwell  received  still  greater  honor,  in  beholding  his  alliance 
sought  with  equal  eagerness  by  France  and  Spain.  Between  these 
two  nations,  war  had  already  lasted  more  than  twenty  years,  although 
of  late  it  had  begun  to  languish,  owing  to  the  civil  feuds  which  dis- 
turbed the  minority  of  Louis  XIV  and  divided  the  attention  of  the 
French  court.  After  some  hesitation,  the  Protector  preferred  the 
alliance  of  France,  and  afforded  the  young  king  such  assistance  in 
troops  and  vessels,  as  to  destroy  the  equilibrium  which  had  so  long 
protracted  the  war  against  Spain.  As  a  compensation  for  this  effi- 
cient aid,  and  an  indemnity  for  the  expenses  incurred,  he  required 
that  the  important  city  of  Dunkirk  should  be  besieged,  and  the  keys 
delivered  into  his  hands,  and  that  France,  moreover,  should  afford 
no  refuge  or  protection  to  the  exiled  sons  of  Charles  I. 

In  consequence  of  this  treaty,  preparations  were  made  for  two 
grand  expeditions.  A  British  fleet,  under  the  command  of  Blake, 
went  in  search  of  the  Spanish  forces,  and  gained  two  victories  neaf 
the  shores  of  Spain  and  Africa;  and  Jamaica  was  also  conquered  by 
the  English,  in  whose  possession  it  has  since  continued.  On  land, 
Marshal  Turenne,  already  famous  for  many  glorious  campaigns  and 
victories,  led  his  army,  composed  of  French  and  English  troops,  to 
the  siege  of  Dunkirk.  The  Spaniards,  on  their  side,  were  not  idle ; 
they  approached  the  French  lines  for  the  purpose  of  raising  the  siege, 
but  were  entirely  defeated  in  the  celebrated  battle  of  Dunes,  the  more 
honorable  to  Turenne,  as  he  vanquished  at  once  three  able  generals, 
*iz.  Don  Juan  the  commander-in-chjef,  and  also  the  prince  of  Conde 


BRITISH  AND  FRENCH  COLONIES;  ETC.       405 

and  the  duke  of  York,  both  of  whom,  discontented  with  the  court  oi 
France,  had  gone  over  to  the  party  of  the  Spaniards  (A.  D.  1658). 

Within  a  few  days  Dunkirk  capitulated,  and,  according  to  the 
previous  agreement,  was  surrendered  to  the  English.  Two  other  vic- 
tories, and  the  capture  of  several  other  towns,  terminated  that  deci- 
sive campaign,  which  was  soon  followed  by  the  conclusion  of  peace 
between  Spain  and  France  on  terms  very  advantageous  to  the  latter. 
The  prince  of  Conde  was  included  in  the  treaty  between  the  two 
crowns. 

Cromwell  did  not  witness  the  termination  of  the  war,  having  died 
a  short  time  before,  just  when  the  prosperous  issue  of  his  alliance 
with  France  had  raised  him  to  the  zenith  of  his  glory.  However, 
neither  in  this  nor  in  any  other  successful  scheme  had  he  ever  en- 
joyed real  happiness.  From  the  moment  in  which  he  was  invested 
with  the  supreme  power  to  that  of  his  death,  his  mind  labored  under 
a  constant  dread  of  assassination ;  nor  were  his  numberless  precau- 
tions and  multiplied  guards  able  to  remove  his  fears.  The  nights  es- 
pecially he  passed  in  a  most  feverish  anx-iety,  never  sleeping  twice, 
or  more  than  twice  in  succession,  in  the  same  chamber,  and  taking 
care  that,  besides  the  principal  door,  there  should  be  some  other  se- 
cret one  for  the  facility  of  escape.  He  died  at  the  age  of  fifty-nine 
(A.  D.  1658),  on  the  third  of  September,  the  anniversary  of  the  vic- 
tories obtained  by  him  at  Worcester  and  Dunbar,  the  former  seven, 
the  latter  eight  years  before. 

Almost  simultaneously  with  Cromwell  fell  the  form  of  government 
which  he  had  established.  Richard,  his  son,  was,  it  is  true,  appointed 
Protector  in  his  place;  but,  possessing  neither  the  abilities  nor  the 
ambition  of  his  father,  he  soon  resigned  the  office,  and  the  English, 
being  at  length  tired  of  so  precarious  a  state  of  things,  agreed  to  re- 
call the  royal  family  of  the  Stuarts.  The  whole  affair,  admirably 
well  conducted  by  General  Monk,  afterwards  called  the  duke  of  Al 
bemarle,  was  finally  accomplished  in  May  1660,  when  Charles  II 
was,  with  universal  satisfaction  and  applause,  replaced  upon  the 
throne  of  his  ancestors. 


BRITISH  AND  FRENCH  COLONIES  IN  NORTH  AMERICA. 

THESE  successive  changes  of  government  were  adopted,  without 
much  difficulty,  by  the  numerous  settlements  which  England  already 
possessed  in  North  America.  It  would  have  been  impossible  for 
these  rising  colonies,  especially  at  such  a  distance,  efficaciously  to  re- 
gist  the  course  of  events  that  took  place  in  the  mother-ccHintry ; 


406  MODERN    HISTORY  Part  VII. 

the  more  so,  as  many  of  the  emigrants  had  a  long  and  bloody  strug- 
gle to  maintain  against  the  Indians,  whom,  it  must  be  acknowledged, 
they  rather  harshly  treated  almost  from  the  beginning,  and  who,  in 
return,  frequently  opposed  with  all  their  might  the  rise  and  progress 
of  the  English  settlements.  Notwithstanding  these  obstacles,  the 
colonies  gradually  improved,  and,  at  length,  by  dint  of  labor,  indus- 
try and  courage,  became  very  prosperous. 

The  most  remarkable  of  them  were  established  under  the  govern 
ment  of  the  Stuarts,  and  in  the  following  chronological  order:  Fir 
ginia,  in  1607,  by  Episcopalians; — New  Amsterdam,  or  New  York, 
in  1614,  or  thereabouts,  by  the  Dutch;  this  colony  lost  the  former, 
and  took  the  tatter  name  in  1664  or  1665,  when  it  passed  under  the 
power  of  the  English; — Massachusetts  and  Boston,  in  1620 — 1630;*— 
Maryland,  in  1632 — 1634,  by  Catholics,  according  to  the  plan  of  Sir 
George  Calvert,  Lord  Baltimore,  a  nobleman  of  liberal  character  and 
distinguished  abilities,  and  under  the  direction  of  his  sons  Cecilius 
and  Leonard  Calvert;  the  city  of  Baltimore  was  not  however  built 
till  a  much  later  period: — Pennsylvania  and  Philadelphia,  in  1681 — 
1682,  by  Quakers,  under  the  celebrated  William  Penn,  to  whom  that 
portion  of  the  American  territory  was  ceded  by  the  British  court  as  a 
reward  for  the  services  of  Admiral  Penn,  his  father. 

In  these  two  last  States,  a  system  of  equity,  humanity  and  meek- 
ness was  adopted  with  regard  to  the  Indian  tribes,  which  did  great 
honor  to  the  first  settlers,  and  greatly  contributed  to  their  rapid  in- 
crease and  early  prosperity.  A  still  more  distinguishing  feature  of  the 
colony  of  Maryland  is  the  example  of  Christian  moderation  and 
mildness  which  she  gave  to  her  sister  colonies;  an  example  hitherto 
unknown  in  the  history  of  America.  For,  whilst  Virginia  and  New 
England  were  dooming,  the  former  to  exile,  the  latter  to  still  harsher 
treatment,  all  who  dissented  from  their  respective  creeds,  Lord  Balti- 
more and  his  associates,  without  in  the  least  admitting  religious  in- 
difference, being  themselves  sincere  Catholics,  removed  however  all 
idea  of  religious  persecution,  and  legally  recognised,  from  the  begin- 
ning, that  civil  freedom  of  conscience  which  has  since  been  adopted 
by  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States. 

It  was  also  chiefly  during  the  course  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
that  the  French  made  regular  settlements  in  those  parts  of  North 

*  Some  years  later,  were  founded  most  of  the  other  New  England  States 
Those  of  Delaware  and  New  Jersey  were  first  settled  by  Swedes  and 
Dutch,  shortly  after  New  York.  Lord  Clarendon  and  other  English  emi- 
grants commenced,  in  1663 — 1670,  the  establishment  of  Carolina;  but  it 
was  only  in  1729  that  the  country  was  completely  divided  into  Norih  and 
South  Carolina.  Georgia  was  settled  in  1732—1735.  The  other  States  of 
the  Union,  besides  those  mentioned  above,  are  of  much  more  recent  date. 


REIGN    OF    LOUIS  XIV.  407 

America,  which  they  had  previously  discovered,  particularly  in  Cana- 
da. Guam  plain,  an  active  and  enterprising  officer,  founded  Quebec 
in  1608 ;  and  in  1642,  Montreal  began  to  rise,  and  soon  after  to  pros- 
per under  the  active  care  of  zealous  settlers,  and  especially  of  the 
congregation  of  the  Sulpitians,  to  whom  the  whole  island  was  ceded 
about  this  time.  Louisiana  also  became  one  of  the  French  colonies, 
though  somewhat  later,  New  Orleans  not  having  begun  to  exist  be- 
fore the  year  1718.  Florida  belonged  at  that  time  to  the  Spaniards. 


SPLENDOR  OF  THE  REIGN  OF  LOUIS  XIV. 


WHEN  the  restoration  of  the  Stuarts  to  the  throne  of  England 
took  place,  Louis  XIV  of  France  had  been  king  for  seventeen  years; 
but,  as  he  fully  relied  upon  the  experience  of  his  mother,  Anne  of 
Austria,  and  on  the  consummate  skill  of  his  prime-minister,  Cardinal 
Mazarin,  he  at  first  interfered  little  in  the  government  of  his  king- 
kom.  However,  even  at  that  time,  he  occasionally  evinced  such  an 
energy  of  character,  as  plainly  to  indicate  what  he  might  effect  in  a 
subsequent  period.  Mazarin  died  in  1661,  and  Louis,  then  twenty- 
three  years  old,  took  the  reins  of  government  into  his  own  hands, 
and  never  afterwards  relinquished  them,  nor  ceased  to  hold  them  in 
a  manner  suitable  to  his  power  and  dignity. 

He  soon  verified  a  saying  of  the  deceased  cardinal,  that  there  was 
in  him  sufficient  material  to  make  four  kings.  Every  branch  of  the 
public  administration  assumed  under  him  a  grand  and  majestic  as- 
pect. He  settled  with  precision  the  extent  of  power  to  be  exercised 
by  each  one  of  his  ministers ;  required  them  to  come  to  an  account 
with  him  at  stated  hours;  and,  whilst  he*encouraged  them  by  sincere 
marks  of  confidence,  carefully  observed  their  proceedings,  lest  they 
should  abuse  their  authority.  His  manner  of  governing,  alike  dig- 
nified and  courteous,  secured  to  him  the  respect  of  foreigners  and  the 
affection  of  his  own  people.  Military  discipline  was  enforced,  the 
public  revenues  were  managed  with  prudence  and  wisdom,  and  strict 
order  was  observed  in  the  courts  of  justice.  Safe  and  capacious  har- 
bors were  in  a  short  time  constructed  and  made  ready  to  receive  all 
kinds  of  vessels ;  the  canal  of  Languedoc,  a  work  not  unworthy  of 
the  genius  of  ancient  Rome,  opened  an  easy  communication  between 
the  Atlantic  and  the  Mediterranean  Sea,  and  a  powerful  navy  was 
equipped,  to  contend  for  the  empire  of  the  ocean  with  tne  chief 
maritime  forces  then  in  existence. 

Under  this  mighty  impulse  given  to  every  improvement,  commerce 
and  industry  increased,  splendid  manufactories  arose,  which  aston- 


408  MODERN    HISTORY.  Part  VJ1 

ished  the  world  by  the  beauty  and  elegance  of  their  productions  in 
porcelain,  looking' glasses,  tapestry,  etc.  The  academies  of  sciences, 
belles-lettres,  sculpture  and  painting,  were  no  sooner  established  than 
they  issued  master-pieces  of  every  description.  Architecture  dis- 
played all  its  magnificence  in  the  palaces  of  the  Louvre  and  of  Ver- 
sailles. All  the  fine  arts,  with  the  various  branches  of  literature  and 
useful  knowledge,  were  encouraged,  enlivened,  protected  both  at 
home  and  abroad ;  and  no  fewer  than  sixty  learned  men,  in  the  dif- 
ferent countries  of  Europe,  received  from  Louis  presents  and  other 
marks  of  esteem,  with  letters  no  less  honorable  to  the  monarch  than 
to  themselves.  France  alone  produced  at  that  epoch  an  incredible 
multitude  of  personages  highly  distinguished  for  their  qualifications  ; 
and  the  same  age  which  saw  with  admiration  Conde  and  Turenne, 
Luxembourg  and  Villars  at  the  head  of  armies,  Duquesne  and  Tour- 
ville  in  the  navy,  Louvois  and  Colbert  in  the  cabinet,  beheld  also 
with  astonishment  the  transcendent  merit  of  Bossuet,  Fenelon,  Bour- 
daloue,  Massillon,  Flechier,  in  sacred  eloquence;  of  Mabillon,  Mont- 
faucon,  Thomassin,  Petavius,  Huet,  in  sacred  learning;  of  Pascal 
and  Descartes  in  mathematics  and  philosophy ;  of  Lamoignon  and 
d'Aguesseau,  in  jurisprudence;  of  Corneille,  Racine,  Boileau,  J.  B. 
Rousseau,  Lafontaine,  in  poetry;  etc. 

In  a  word,  the  reign  of  Louis  XIV  was,  in  every  respect,  the  reign 
of  taste  and  genius;  one,  during  which  the  capital  of  France  seemed 
to  have  become  another  Rome  or  Athens,  so  as  to  render  that  age,  if 
not  superior,  at  least  equal  to  the  most  brilliant  ages  of  antiquity. 
Hence  the  name  of  Louis  was  respected  among  the  remotest  nations 
of  the  earth,  and  ambassadors  came  from  the  eastern  extremities  of 
Asia  to  court  his  alliance  and  friendship. 

Nothing  however  can  appear  so  honorable  to  the  memory  of  that 
monarch,  as  the  great  zeal  which  he  constantly  evinced  for  the 
interests  of  religion.  He  encouraged  and  promoted  the  diffusion  of 
Christianity  in  the  various  parts  of  the  world.  It  was  chiefly  during 
his  reign,  that  crowds  of  pious  and  learned  missionaries  set  out  from 
France,  to  preach  the  gospel  in  North  and  South  America,  in  China, 
Persia,  Egypt  and  other  countries,  where  they  rendered  invaluable 
services  as  well  to  the  Church,  as  to  science  and  to  the  cause  of 
humanity.  In  his  own  kingdom,  he  extended  the  same  protection  to 
all  good  and  useful  institutions,  he  checked  by  severe  edicts  the  practice 
of  duelling  and  the  profanations  of  the  name  of  God,  and  also  enact- 
ed various  laws  for  the  preservation  of  good  order,  tranquillity  and 
justice.  As  for  himself,  although  his  personal  conduct  was  not 
always  irreprehensible,  he  however  always  remained  strongly  attached 
to  religion,  always  set -the  example  of  modesty  in  prayer  and  pro- 
found respect  in  church,  an4  ultimately  atoned  for  the  faults  of  youth 


A.  xx  1684-1669.          WAR  OF  FLANDERS;  ETC.  400 

by  the  practice  of  solid  virtues  and  the  exercises  of  genuine  piety  in  a 
more  advanced  age. 

With  regard  to  the  glory  of  arms,  never  perhaps  did  either  France 
or  any  other  country  behold  a  greater  and  more  brilliant  display  of 
military  talents  than  under  the  reign  of  Louis  XIV.  This  will  be 
the  object  of  the  following  sections. 


WAR  OF  FLANDERS- OF  CANDIA,  ETC.— A.  D.  1664—1669. 

THE  reader  has  already  noticed  the  glory  and  advantages  acquired 
by  France  in  the  last  war  against  Spain  and  Austria.  Spain  was 
again  humbled,  in  1667 — 1668,  by  the  arms  of  Louis,  and  such  was 
the  rapidity  of  his  conquests  both  in  Franche-Comte  and  Flanders, 
that  a  confederacy  of  the  neighboring  nations  was  thought  necessary 
to  stop  his  progress.  A  league  was  therefore  concluded,  under  the 
name  of  the  triple  alliance,  by  England,  Holland  and  Sweden,  the 
contracting  powers  agreeing  among  themselves  to  settle  the  differences 
of  France  and  Spain  upon  reasonable  terms,  capable  of  reconciling 
their  opposite  pretensions.  By  a  subsequent  treaty  signed  at  Aix- 
la-Chapelle,  the  French  monarch  was  permitted  to  retain  his  con- 
quests in  Flanders,  and  the  Spanish  king,  now  Charles  II,  was  con- 
tented with  the  restoration  of  Franche-Comte. 

In  the  year  preceding  the  treaty  of  Aix-la-Chapelle  (1667),  a  simi- 
lar transaction  had  taken  place  at  Breda  between  the  English  and 
the  Dutch,  for  the  adjustment  of  their  own  differences.  A  new  con- 
test had  previously  arisen  among  them,  which  iaged  for  some  years 
with  great  fierceness,  much  bloodshed,  and  enormous  expense;  seve- 
ral naval  battles  had  been  fought,  equally  obstinate  and  undecisive; 
however,  the  final  result  was  favorable  to  the  English,  who  obtained 
from  the  Dutch,  by  the  treaty  of  Breda,  the  unqualified  cession  of 
extensive  and  valuable  settlements  in  America. 

Louis  XIV  was  not  so  much  engaged  in  these  great  concerns  of 
war  and  peace  with  his  neighbors,  as  not  to  take  an  active  share  in 
the  interests  of  more  distant  nations.  In  the  year  1664,  he  sent  a 
body  of  troops  to  assist  the  emperor  Leopold  against  a  fresh  inva- 
sion of  the  Turks.  This  and  other  succors  granted  by  different 
princes  enabled  Montecuculli,  the  commander-in-chief  of  the  Austrian 
forces,  to  fight,  near  the  river  Raab,  the  celebrated  battle  of  St.  Go- 
thard,  in  which  the  Turks  were  entirely  defeated,  and  compelled  to 
postpone  their  projects  of  invasion. 

Four  years  later,  a  similar  though  less  successful  assistance  was 
sent  by  the  French  king  to  the  Venetians,  for  the  defence  of  the  island 
35 


41 J  MODERN    HISTORY.  Part  Vl 


;: 

ad 


ol  Candia  now  vigorously  attacked  by  the  same  infidels.  T 
siege,  or  rather  blockade  of  the  capital,  also  called  Candia,  had 
already  lasted  twenty  years,  when  the  grand-vizier,  Achmet  Kiuperly, 
determined  to  bring  it,  by  redoubled  efforts,  to  a  speedy  issue.  He 
himself  landed  in  the  island,  and  closely  invested  the  town  with  an 
army  no  less  formidable  for  its  numbers  than  for  its  valor  and  disci- 
pline. The  siege  still  lasted  two  years  and  a  half,  being  thus  one 
of  the  m»st  ceL  brated  in  either  ancient  or  modern  age*:,  for  the  obsti- 
na  -y  of  both  parlies  and  the  mighty  exertions  performed  on  each  side. 
The  1  '  >rmed  the  place  no  fewer  than  (it'ty-six  times;  and,  in 

the  intervals,  their  artillery,  consisting  of  three  hundred  cannons, 
played  with  such  incessant  fury,  as  to  make  the  ramparts  of  Candia 
of  ruins.  The  besieged,  on  their  part,  fired  against 
their  foes  upwards  of  five  hundred  thousand  bombs  or  bullets, 
expended  fifty  thousand  barrels  of  gun -powder,  and.  ;>ellinp 

all  the  assaults   of  the  enemy,  made  iii.  agninst  the 

Turkish  intrenchment^. 

So  terrible  ami   obsiinato  a  warfare  could  not  fail  to  beext: 
desirm  live.     A'vc.riing  to  the  most  moderate  ai-nimit,  the  Turks, 
before  they  could   lal-.  on  of  <  'aiuli.i,  l.ist  one  hundred  and 

, ,  and  the  (  "luiMiaMs,  thirty  thousan-:  .     There  w 

all  around  the  city,  one  spot  which  had  not  bevn  moistened  by  the 
blood  of  many  heroes.  But  the  garrison  being  now  reduced  to  a 
handful  of  men,  mostly  wounded,  or  exhausted  by  their  exertions,  it 
appeared  evident  that  the  place  could  hold  out  no  longer;  and  the 
Venetian  commanders  were  at  length  induced  to  surrender  it  upon 
the  terms  of  an  honorable  capitulation,  which  Kiuperly  granted  and 
faithfully  executed  (A.  D.  1669).  In  all  this,  the  grand-vizier  acted 
with  a  moderation  that  did  him  no  less  honor  than  his  manner  of 
conducting  and  concluding  the  siege.  This  great  man,  still  more  to 
be  admired  as  a  minister  of  state  than  as  a  general,  presently  applied 
to  npair  in  the  island  the  numberless  calamities  it  had  suffered 
from  so  furious  a  war,  and  his  efforts  aided  by  the  natural  salubrity 
of  the  climate  and  the  fertility  of  the  soil,  were  soon  attended  with 
complete  success.  He  then  returned  to  Constantinople,  whore, 
under  the  young  sultan  Mahomet  IV,  he  continued  to  govern  (he 
state  with  prudence  and  ability  until  the  moment  of  his  death,  which 
happened  in  1676. 

To  return  to  Louis  XIV;  this  monarch  was  more  successful  in 
checking  the  depredations  of  the  Alrjerine  pirates,  than  he  had  beca 
in  saving  Candia  from  the  arms  of  the  Ottomans.  Squadrons  which 
he  despatched  at  different  times,  obliged  those  pirates  to  disappear  fora 
while,  and  restored  security  to  commerce  on  the  Mediterranean  sea. 


A.  D.  1672-1668.         WAR  OF  HOLLAND;  ETC.  411 


WAR  OF  HOLLAND— AND  SUBSEQUENT  EVENTS  TILL  THE 
LEAGUE  OF  AUGSBURG.— A.  D.  1672—1686. 


A  still  greater  design  engaged  at  the  same  time  the  attention  of 
Louis.  The  Dutch  having  of  late  given  him  many  causes  of  com- 
plaint, he  resolved  to  humble  their  pride  and  chastise  their  ingrati- 
tude. In  the  year  1672,  a  well  disciplined  force  of  one  hundred  and 
ten  thousand  men,  commanded  by  the  king  in  person,  and  by  Conde 
and  Turenne  under  him,  crossed  the  Rhine,  and  overran  a  great  part 
of  Holland  with  little  or  no  opposition.  Their  march  was  so  rapid 
and  successful,  that,  in  the  space  of  two  months,  three  of  the  seven 
united  provinces  were  subdued,  and  forty  fortified  towns  captured. 
The  army  continuing  to  advance,  and  the  conqueror  refusing  to 
grant  peace  except  on  rigorous  and  humiliating  terms,  the  Dutch,  in 
their  despair,  came  to  the  determination  of  opening  therr  dykes  and 
inundating  the  country.  This  bold  measure  saved  them  from  utter 
ruin,  and  the  French  finding  themselves  in  the  midst  of  waters,  were 
at  last  compelled  to  retreat. 

In  the  mean  while,  William,  Prince  of  Orange,  who  had  been  just 
appointed  stadtholder  of  the  republic,  was  using  all  his  efforts  to 
rouse  the  great  European  powers  against  Louis  XIV.  His  exertions 
easily  induced  the  king  of  Spain,  the  emperor  of  Germany,  and  the 
elector  of  Brandenburg,  all  of  whom  were  alarmed  at  the  views  of 
the  French  monarch,  to  declare  in  favor  of  the  Dutch  ;  England 
alone  remained  at  this  time  an  ally  to  France,  and  that  for  two  years 
only.  In  1073,  great  naval  battles  were  fought  in  the  channel  be- 
tween the  fleet  of  Holland  and  the  combined  fleets  of  England  and 
France,  without  any  considerable  advantage  for  either  party.  Three 
other  engagements  which  took  place  on  the  Mediterranean  sea,  were 
more  decisive;  in  the  first,  the  celebrated  Dutch  admiral,  Ruyter, 
was  worsted  by  the  French  under  Duquesne;  in  the  second,  he  lost 
his  life  near  Messina,  a  maritime  town  of  Sicily ;  and  shortly  after, 
his  fleet,  attacked  for  the  third  time,  was  almost  entirely  destroyed 
(A.  *>.  1676). 

Still  more  important  events  happened  on  land,  particularly  along 
the  frontiers  of  Germany  and  Flanders.  •Franche-Comte  now  be- 
came inseparably  annexed  to  the  French  crown,  being  a  second  time 
subdued  by  the  king,  who  commanded  in  person  an  army  on  that 
side.  Conde,  with  another,  attacked,  near  Senef,  the  united  forces  of 
(he  allies,  surprised  their  rear,  and,  before  it  could  receive  reinforce- 
ments, cut  it  in  pieces.  He  then  bore  down  upon  the  main  body  of 
fheir  troops,  and,  after  a  sharp  engagement,  forced  them  to  abandon 


412  MODERN    HISTORY.  Part  VII 

the  field  of  battle.  Not  satisfied  with  this,  and,  like  Caesar,  accounting 
nothing  to  have  been  done  as  long  as  there  remained  something  to  do,* 
the  victorious  prince  pushed  forward,  and,  for  the  third  time,  attacked 
the  confederates  in  a  strong  position,  where  all  their  forces  were  as- 
sembled under  the  command  of  the  Prince  of  Orange.  Here  the 
conflict  was  most  obstinate  and  bloody,  the  slaughter  on  both  sides 
being  carried  on  from  ten  in  the  morning  till  eleven  at  night,  so  as  to 
cost  the  lives  of  fifteen,  some  say,  twenty-seven  thousand  combatants. 
The  allies,  though  not  positively  defeated,  retired  first  from  this 
melancholy  scene  of  carnage,  and  perceiving  that  they  were  yet  too 
closely  followed  by  the  French,  withdrew  to  a  greater  distance  from 
the  frontier  (A.  D.  1674). 

Whilst  Conde  drove  his  opponents  before  him  in  the  Netherlands, 
Turenne,  with  twenty  thousand  men,  had  to  oppose,  near  the  Rhine, 
sixty  thousand  German  troops,  who  aimed  at  nothing  less  than  the 
conquest  of  Alsace  and  Lorraine,  whence  they  might  after  winter, 
strike  terror  into  the  very  heart  of  Kran.-f.  The  I'Vneu  -em  nil,  who 
had  until  then  separately  defeated  the  different  bodies  of  thrir  army 
before  a  junction  could  be  effected  by  them,  now  seemed  to  be  fright- 
ened at  the  approach  of  their  joint  numbers,  so  superior  to  his  own. 
He  therefore  left  the  banks  of  the  Rhine,  and  retiring  as  far  as  the 
confines  of  Lorraine,  abandoned  the  whole  province  of  Alsace  to  the 
enemy.  This  retreat,  though  admirably  well  conducted,  and  achieved 
without  the  loss  of  a  single  man,  seemed  contrary  to  the  promise 
which  Turenne  had  previously  made  to  save  the  French  territory  from 
invasion,  and  was  to  every  one  a  subject  of  astonishment,  and  the 
more  so  as  he  had,  at  the  same  time,  countermanded  fifteen  thousand 
men  who  were  advancing  through  Lorraine  to  reinforce  his  army. 

In  the  mean  while,  the  German  troops  freely  overran  all  Alsace, 
choosing  the  best  positions  for  their  winter  quarters,  and  acting  with 
as  much  security  as  if  they  had  been  in  their  own  native  land.  This 
was  exactly  the  opportunity  that  Turenne  wanted  for  the  execution 
of  a  design  which  he  had  been  maturing  for  two  months.  Having 
divided  his  troops  into  different  bodies,  he  put  them  all  in  motion  in 
the  dead  of  winter,  and  without  disclosing  his  intention  to  any  per- 
son in  the  army,  commanded  them  to  march  on  by  different  and  dif- 
ficult roads  across  mountains  and  defiles,  and  to  meet  at  *he  same 
time  and  place,  both  of  which  were  specified.  After  a  month  of 
separation  and  painful  marches,  they  found  themselves  all  collected 
in  one  spot,  with  Turenne  at  their  head,  not  far  from  the  first  of  the 
enemy 's  posts. 

*  Nil  actum  credens,  qutlm  quid  superesset  agendum. 

Lucan,  lib,  ir.  I.  657. 


A,  B.  1673-1686.        WAR  OF  HOLLAND,  ETC.  413 

The  chief  commanders  of  the  allies  refused  to  believe  the  first  in- 
formation that  was  given  them  of  the  return  of  the  French  ;  but  their 
incredulity  was  soon  obliged  to  yield  to  the  evidence  of  the  tact. 
Their  posts  were  briskly  attacked  and  obliged  to  surrender,  their 
scattered  troops  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  assailants,  and  those  only 
who  had  been  stationed  at  a  great  distance,  avoided  the  snare  laid  for 
their  destruction.  Such  as  could  escape,  precipitately  retreated  to- 
wards Colmar,  where  their  leaders  had  appointed  the  general  rendez- 
vous. Although  their  number  had  been-  greatly  diminished,  it  still 
surpassed  that  of  the  conquerors;  and  having,  besides,  taken  a  very 
advaatageous  position,  they  could  scarcely  believe  that  the  French 
would  attack  them  in  this  their  last  and  strongest  intrenchment.  But 
Turenne  was  too  skilful  either  to  lose  the  opportunity  of  striking  a 
decisive  blow,  or  to  forget  any  thing  that  might  ensure  success.  No 
sooner  had  he  arrived  in  sight  of  the  enemy,  than  he  posted  the 
greater  part  of  his  forces  just  opposite  to  their  front;  and  he  himself, 
making  a  wide  circuit  with  some  squadrons  and  regiments,  suddenly 
appeared  on  their  flank.  The  attack  then  commenced,  and  was  con- 
ducted, on  the  side  of  the  French,  with  such  vigor  and  skill,  that  the 
dispirited  imperialists  soon  began  to  waver;  a  general  flight  ensued, 
and  the  sad  remnant  of  their  forces  availed  themselves  of  the  dark- 
ness of  the  night  to  retire  to  Strasburg,  whence,  by  recrossing  the 
Rhine,  they  speedily  returned  to  their  own  territory. 

This  wonderful  campaign  filled  up  the  measure  of  Turenne's  rcv 
putation  and  glory.  In  hearing  its  details,  not  only  France,  but  all 
Europe  was  filled  with  admiration;  especially,  when  from  a  letter 
written  two  months  before  by  the  marshal  himself  to  the  secretary 
of  state,  it  became  publicly  known,  that  so  many  encampments  and 
marches,  even  the  movements  of  the  allies  and  the  ultimate  result  of 
the  expedition  had  been  foreseen  and  planned  in  his  mind  exactly  as 
they  happened.* 

The  ensuing  year  (1675)  again  beheld  Turenne  at  the  head  of  the 
French  army  near  the  Rhine.  He  had  now  to  fight  against  the  earl 
of  Montecuculli,  an  opponent  in  every  way  worthy  of  him  on  account 
of  his  consummate  ability  and  experience.  During  four  successive 
months,  these  two  great  men  exhausted  against  each  other  all  the 
stratagems  and  resources  of  military  tactics,  without  either  of  them 
being  able,  all  that  time,  to  surprise  his  enemy  in  any  faulty  or  incon- 
siderate measure.  Turenne,  however,  by  his  masterly  manoeuvres  be- 
gan to  obtain  some  slight  advantage,  and  gradually  gaining  ground, 
drove  the  Germans  from  station  to  station,  till  they  reached  the  village 
of  SalsDach.  Here  he  made  his  last  preparations  to  give  them  battle, 

*  See  Anquetil,  Hist,  de  France,  ad  ann.  1674,— ard  Raguen^t,  Histoire 
d  }runmte  de  Turenne,  p.  249. 


414  MODERN    HISTORY.  Part  Vil. 

and  was  already  expressing  to  those  around  him  his  full  confidence  of 
victory,  when,  at  the  commencement  of  the  cannonade,  a  bullet 
struck  him  dead  on  the  spot  (twenty-seventh  of  July,  1675).  The 
whole  army  bewailed  with  bitter  tears  the  loss  of  that  incomparable 
leader,  whose  beneficence,  generosity  and  other  Christian  as  well  as 
military  virtues,  had  gained  their  most  devoted  affection.  His  death 
was  equally  lamented  throughout  all  France;  and  Louis,  the  better  to 
honor  his  memory,  caused  him  to  be  buried  with  extraordinary  pomp 
in  the  sepulchre  of  the  French  kings  at  St.  Denis,  a  privilege  which 
had  been  granted  to  no  private  individual  before,  except  to  Du  Gues- 
clin,  in  the  time  of  King  Charles  V. 

Immediately  after  the  death  of  Turenne,  in  order  to  compensate 
his  loss,  if  possible,  and  fill  his  place  in  the  army,  no  fewer  than 
eight  new  marshals  were  created;  but  Conde  was  then  in  truth  the 
only  general  capable  of  following  up  with  success  the  plan  of  the 
deceased  hero.  He  not  only  stopped  the  progress  of  the  impeii 
who  had  once  more  invaded  Alsace,  but  obliged  them  to  retire 
again  beyond  the  Rhine;  after  which  he  himself  was  compelled  by 
the  gout  to  withdraw  from  the  army.  Montecuculli  also  resigned 
the  command  of  the  imperial  troops,  not  judging  it  worthy  of  his 
imputation  to  fight  against  newly  appointed  generals,  after  he  had  had 
the  honor  of  opposing  Turenne  and  Conde.  Thus  the  year  of  our 
Lord  1675  closed  the  military  career  of  three  among  the  chief  heroes 
of  modern  times;  just  as  the  year  183  B.  c.  terminated  that  of  Anni- 
bal,  Scipio  and  Philopcemen,  three  of  the  most  illustrious  generals  of 
aittiqitity. 

Conde  and  Turenne  left  behind  them  skilful  disciples  in  the  art  of 
warfare;  and  Crequi,  Luxembourg  and  others  maintained  the  supe- 
riority which  the  French  monarch  had  already  acquired.  The  king 
himself,  with  his  brother,  the  duke  of  Orleans,  frequently  apj 
at  the  head  of  his  armies,  and  gained  so  many  advantages,  that  the 
allies  were  at  length  induced  to  come  to  a  treaty  of  peace,  which  they 
all  signed  at  Nimeguen,  on  the  conditions  he  had  proposed  (A.  D. 
1678— -'79).  It  was  then  that  the  surname  of  Great  was  conferred 
upon  Louis,  for  his  manifold  triumphs,  military  and  political,  over  the 
multitude  of  his  enemies. 

Even  the  time  of  peace  was  improved  by  the  victorious  monarch 
to  consolidate  his  power  at  home,  and  to  extend  it  abroad.  He  re- 
voked the  privileges  which  had  been  granted  to  the  Huguenots  by  the 
edict  of  Nantes  in  1598,  and  which  had  proved,  many  times  since, 
an  occasion  of  great  disturbances.*  Genoa,  Tripoli  and  Algiers 
having  dared  tj  brave  his  authority,  were  so  severely  bombarded  by 

*  See  note  O. 


*.  D.  168&-1G97.          LEAGUE    OF    AUGSBURG.  415 

l'5:s  navy,  as  to  leave  them  no  other  resource  than  to  send  deputies  to 
apologize  for  their  conduct.  Nor  did  he  act  less  vigorously  on  land 
igainst  Strasburg,  then  a  free  town,  which  had  been  repeatedly 
guilty  of  a  breach  of  faith  in  his  regard;  twenty  thousand  men  sud- 
denly invested  it,  and  in  his  name  took  immediate  possession  of 
iiiat  city,  one  of  the  most  important  in  Europe  for  its  position  and 
strength. 


LEAGUE   OF  AUGSBURG.— A.  D.  1686—1697. 

REVOLUTION   IN   ENGLAND. 

THIS  continual  increase  of  power  again  alarmed  the  neighboring 
states,  and  a  new  league,  destined  to  check  it,  was  formed  at  Augs- 
burg in  1686,  by  the  emperor  of  Germany,  the  king  of  Spain,  the 
republic  of  Holland,  etc.  Louis  might  have  found  an  ally  in  the  king 
of  England,  James  II,  who  had  lately  succeeded  his  brother  Charles 
II;  but  James,  by  granting  universal  liberty  of  conscience  in  his 
kingdom,  and  being  perhaps  too  eager  in  favoring  the  hitherto  op- 
pressed Catholics  whose  religion  he  had  embraced,  incurred  the  aver- 
sion of  his  other  subjects.  Seeing  himself  betrayed  and  almost  univer- 
s-ally  abandoned,  whilst  his  son-in-law,  the  famous  Prince  of  Orange, 
advanced  to  dethrone  him,  he  fled,  and  sought  refuge  in  France;  so 
that  the  whole  effort  of  the  league  of  Augsburg,  now  rendered  still 
more  formidable  by  the  accession  of  England,  was  directed  exclu- 
sively against  the  French  monarch. 

The  first  campaigns  produced  few  important  events;  but,  in  1690, 
the  struggle  became  most  animated  in  the  various  provinces  which 
were  the  theatres  of  the  war.  The  exiled  king  having,  with  a  strong 
armament  passed  over  to  Ireland,  where  the  majority  of  the  popula- 
tion was  favorable  to  his  cause,  attacked,  with  more  resolution  than 
prudence,  the  formidable  force  of.  his  enemy  near  the  river  Boyne. 
The  Irish  and  French  began  indeed  to  fight  bravely,  but  without 
much  order;  and  victory  soon  declared  in  favor  of  superior  numbers 
aided  by  valor  and  discipline.  James  retreated,  and  giving  up  too 
scon  all  further  hope  of  success,  departed  from  Ireland,  which  in  a 
short  time  was  entirely  surrendered  to  the  conquerors.  Many  how- 
ever of  its  inhabitants,  through  a  heroic  attachment  to  a  dethroned 
and  fugitive  prince,  followed  him  into  France,  which  thr  y  accus- 
tomed themselves  to  consider  as  their  own  country,  and  whose  battles 
they  fought  in  subsequent  years  with  such  determined  valor,  that  her 
great  monarch  bestowed  on  them  the  flattering  name  of  Ms  Lravc  Irish. 


416  MODERN    HISTORY.  Pan  VII. 

Just  at  the  time  of  the  defeat  of  James  in  Ireland,  an  important 
action  look  place  at  sea.  Admiral  Tourville  attacked  in  the  channel, 
near  the  Isle  of  Wight,  the  combined  fleets  of  England  and  Holland, 
'and,  with  very  trifling  loss  on  his  side,  burnt  or  captured  fifteen  of 
their  vessels.  He  was  not  so  fortunate  two  years  after  (1692).  Hav- 
ing to  oppose,  off  cape  La  Hogue,  ninety  or  ninety-nine  sail  under 
the  command  of  admiral  Russel,  with  only  sixty-three,  or,  as  some 
say,  only  forty-four  ships  of  the  line,  he  maintained  indeed  the  une- 
.qual  contest  for  twelve  hours,  but  could  not  prevent  fifteen  or  seven- 
teen of  his  finest  vessels  from  being  destroyed  by  the  English.  This 
was  a  fatal  blow  to  the  French  navy,  of  which  France  at  this  period 
was  justly  proud.  England,  on  the  contrary,  recovered  her  maritime 
preponderance,  and  every  probable  hope  of  James  II  towards  the 
recovery  of  his  kingdom  was  extinguished  for  ever. 

The  defeat  of  La-Hogue  was  the  only  severe  check  then  suffered 
by  the  arms  of  Louis  XIV ;  the  expeditions  of  his  land  forces  were 
much  more  prosperous,  and,  for  the  space  of  several  years  (1690— ^ 
1695),  they  offered  one  continued  series  of  victories  and  conquests. 
Whilst  the  king  in  person  took  the  important  places  of  Mons  and 
Namur  in  the  Netherlands,  the  dukes  of  Noailles  and  Vendome  sub- 
dued a  considerable  part  of  the  province  of  Catalonia  in  Spain;  Mar- 
shal Catinat  completely  defeated  the  duke  of  Savoy  at  Stafarda  and 
Marsiglia,  and  conquered  nearly  all  his  dominions:  in  fine,  Marshal 
Luxembourg,  by  mere  superiority  of  talent,  gained  the  splendid  vie 
tories  of  Fleurus,  Steinkirk  and  Nerwinde,  over  the  chief  army  of  the 
confederates,  taking  from  them  so  great  a  number  of  colors,  that 
these  trophies,  being  sent  to  Paris,  and  serving  to  ornament  the 
cathedral,  acquired  for  the  victorious  general  the  singular  but  honora- 
ble appellation  of  Taplmer  dc  Notre- Dame. 

So  many  triumphs  reflected  immense  glory  on  France;  but  he* 
very  victories,  which  she  did  not  obtain  without  great  exertions  and 
expense,  gradually  exhausted  her  strength,  whereas  the  allies,  from 
their  superior  numbers,  were,  like  the  heads  of  a  hydra,  no  less  pow- 
erful and  formidable  after  their  defeats  than  they  were  before.  This 
chiefly  appeared  at  the  death  of  Marshal  Luxembourg,  whom  an  at- 
tack of  apoplexy  carried  off  in  the  beginning  of  the  year  1695.*  The 
confederates  availed  themselves  of  his  absence  from  the  French  army, 

*  At  that  awful  moment,  this  general,  one  of  the  most  skilful,  active  and 
successful  that  France  ever  produced  ;  who  never  experienced  a  defeat, 
and  who  filled  the  world  with  the  renown  of  his  military  exploits :  this 
celebrated  man,  publicly  acknowledged  the  illusion  and  emptiness  of 
all  earthly  glory.  "Alas!"  he  exclaimed,  "what  will  my  victories 
avail  me  at  the  tribunal  of  my  sovereign  Judge?  Would  to  God  that  I 
could  offer  him,  instead  of  so  many  useless  laurels,  the  merit  of  a  cup  of 
water  given  to  the  poor  in  his  name  !" 


',,0.1700-1715.      SUCCESSION  OF  SPAIN,  ETC.  41? 

co  besiege  and  retake  the  important  city  of  Namur.  Both  parties  be- 
ing now  tired  of  the  war,  nothing  of  great  consequence  was  performed 
rjn  either  side  during  the  ensuing  year  1696;  France,  however,  made 
-a  1697  a  new  and  vigorous  effort,  which  enabled  her  generals  to  ob- 
i.ain  some  advantages  in  Catalonia  and  Flanders.  Moreover,  her 
3  aval  squadrons,  under  the  command  of  Tourville,  d'Estrees,  Forbin, 
Duguay-Trouin  and  John  Bart,  all  of  them  excellent  mariners, 
-very  where  annoyed  the  commerce  of  the  enemy,  and  bore  off  im- 
mense prizes  from  the  maritime  towns  and  colonies  of  England,  Hoi 
•and  and  Spain. 

These  multiplied  losses,  and  the  withdrawing  of  the  duke  of  Sa 
roy  from  the  confederacy,  at  length  induced  the  allied  powers  to  ac- 
jept  of  the  moderate  conditions  Louis  XIV  had  for  a  long  time 
been  offering  to  them.  On  the  twentieth  of  September  (A.  D.  1697), 
'».  ireaty  of  peace  was  signed  at  Ryswick,  by  which  the  victorious 
monarch  consented  to  resign  nearly  all  his  late  conquests,  especially 
ihose  made  upon  the  Spanish  territories.  Many  persons  found  fault 
'.Vi'.h  that  great  moderation,  the  secret  causes  of  which  they  did  not 
uei'ceive;  but  time  soon  disclosed  the  wisdom  of  the  king's  mea- 
sures and  the  depth  of  his  policy. 


SUCCESSION  OF  SPAIN.— DEATH  OF  LOUIS  XIV 
A.  D.  1700—1715. 


CHARLES  II,  king  of  Spain,  being  about  to  die  without  issue,  ap- 
pointed for  his  heir  and  successor  the  duke  of  Anjou,  his  grand- 
aephew  by  his  sister  Maria  Theresa,  and  grand-son  to  Louis  XIV. 
Tlie  French  court,  after  mature  deliberation,  accepted  the  impor- 
tani  though  dangerous  inheritance,  and  the  duke  was  proclaimed,  in 
tlie  year  1700,  king  of  Spain,  Naples  and  West  Indies,  under  the 
name  of  Philip  V.  This  momentous  transaction  again  excited  the 
jealousy  and  awakened  the  fears  of  Europe,  and  particularly  of  the 
(Jerman  emperor,  Leopold  I,  who  claimed  the  same  succession  for 
nis  second  son,  the  archduke  Charles.  In  the  course  of  two  or  three 
•years,  Holland,  England,  Prussia,  Savoy  and  Portugal,  either  from 
an  apprehension  that  the  house  of  Bourbon  might  become  too  power 
fui.  or  from  a  desire  of  their  own  aggrandizement,  were  induced  to 
etn'nrace  the  party  of  the  emperor.  The  allies  of  France  and  Spain 
were  the  electors  of  Cologne  and  Bavaria;  neutrality  was  ob- 
swved  only  by  the  Ecclesiastical  State,  Venice  and  Switzerland. 
As  rhis  was  also  the  time  when  Charles  XII,  king  of  Sweden,  en- 
gaged in  an  obstinate  and  bloody  contest  against  Poland  and  Russia 


418  MODERN    HISTORY.  Part  VII. 

it  thus  happened  that  the  earliest  period  of  the  eighteenth  century  be- 
held the  blaze  of  war  rekindled  throughout  nearly  all  Europe,  so  as 
to  spread  its  ravages  from  the  shores  of"  the  Atlantic  to  the  vast  plains 
of  Russia,  and  from  Gibraltar  to  the  northern  pole. 

The  British  king,  William  III,  who  had  been  the  principal  leader 
in  the  two  last  confederacies  against  France,  was  again  preparing 
to  take  a  prominent  part  in  this  new  league;  but  he  died  just  in  the 
beginning  of  the  war  (A.  D.  1702),  with  the  reputation  of  a  skil- 
ful though  rather  unfortunate  general,  of  whom  it  has  been  said 
that  none  perhaps  could  boast  of  having  lost  more  battles.  His 
chief  qualification  was  that  of  a  profound  politician;  and,  upon  the 
whole,  he  proved  to  be  the  most  successful  opponent  of  Louis  XIV. 
The  death  of  that  prince  caused,  however,  no  alteration  in  the 
plan  of  the  allies;  his  views  were  followed  up  by  his  sister  in-law, 
Anne,  who  succeeded  him  on  the  throne,  and  his  absence  from  the 
army  was  more  than  compensated  by  the  duke  of  Marlborough  at 
the  head  of  the  English,  and  by  Prince  Eugene  of  Savoy  at  the  head 
of  the  imperial  troops.  These  were  the  two  great  generals  destined 
to  interrupt  the  long  course  of  the  prosperity  of  Louis. 

France,  it  is  true,  also  possessed  at  that  time  skilful  and  brave 
commanders,  among  whom  the  duke  of  Vendome  and  Marshal  Vil- 
lars  were  conspicuous ;  both  gained  several  advantages  during  the 
first  campaigns:  but  as  they  could  not  be  present  in  every  place 
where  their  cooperation  was  needed,  the  year  1704  witnessed  a  total 
change  of  fortune.  Eugene  and  Marlborough  having  united  their 
forces,  attacked,  near  the  village  of  Blenheim,  the  combined  armies 
of  the  French  and  Bavarians,  commanded  by  the  Elector-Duke  and 
by  Marshals  Tallard  and  Marsin.  The  battle  was  a  decisive  one ; 
the  Austriansand  English  lost  indeeed  twelve  thousand  men,  but  the* 
French  and  Bavarians  lost  about  forty  thousand,  including  the  slain, 
wounded  and  prisoners.  The  artillery,  ammunition,  baggage,  in  a 
word,  every  trophy  that  can  distinguish  a  complete  triumph,  fell,  witn 
Marshal  Tallard,  into  the  hands  of  the  victors.  Moreover,  the  whole 
electorate  of  Bavaria  became  their  prize ;  and  not  only  were  the  van- 
quished driven  from  the  plains  of  Hochstadt  near  the  Danube  to  the 
banks  of  the  Rhine,  but  even  the  remnant  of  that  army,  which  had 
first  spread  terror  to  the  gates  of  the  Austrian  capital,  was  obliged  to 
take  shelter  within  the  frontiers  of  France.  The  conquerors,  finding 
no  further  obstacle,  crossed  the  Rhine,  entered  Alsace,  and  the  strong 
place  of  Landau  surrendered  to  them  before  the  close  of  the  cam 
paign;  whilst,  in  a  very  distant  quarter,  the  English  captured  also 
the  important  fortress  of  Gibraltar,  which  has  ever  since  remained 
'n  their  power. 

Louis  XIV  possessed  in  an  eminent  degree  that  Christian  fortitude 


A.  D.  1700-1715,     SUCCESSION  OF  SPAIN,  ETC.  419 

which  enables  the  soul  to  bear  misfortunes  with  composure  and  re- 
signation. Although  accustomed  to  victory,  he  received  without 
dismay  the  sad  intelligence  of  the  ruin  of  his  army  at  Blenheim, 
and  took  the  most  vigorous  steps  to  check  the  progress  of  the  allies. 
Understanding  that  the  duke  of  Marlborough  meant  to  carry  the  war, 
by  the  river  Moselle,  into  the  heart  of  France,  he  assembled,  on 
that  side,  an  army  of  seventy  thousand  men  under  Villars,  whose 
conduct  was  so  masterly,  that  he  prevented  Marlborough  from  effect- 
ing any  measure  of  consequence  during  the  whole  of  the  year  1705. 
In  Italy  likewise,  the  French  under  Vendome  maintained  their  su- 
periority against  all  the  efforts  both  of  Prince  Eugene  and  the  duke 
of  Savoy. 

The  ensuing  year  (1706)  presented  one  continued  series  of  defeats 
and  losses  for  France  and  Spain.  In  the  peninsula,  Philip  V  saw 
his  fairest  provinces  conquered  by  the  allies,  his  very  capital  invaded, 
and  his  rival,  the  archduke  Charles,  proclaimed  king  in  his  place. 
In  the  Netherlands,  Marlborough  completely  defeated  Marshal  Ville- 
roi  in  the  battle  of  Ramillies,  which  was  followed  by  the  reduction 
of  all  Brabant  and  nearly  all  Spanish  Flanders.  The  sudden  over- 
throw of  the  French  armies  in  Italy  was  the  finishing  stroke  of  that 
eventful  year,  the  most  singularly  disastrous  perhaps  that  France 
ever  experienced.  The  duke  of  Vendome  having  been  recalled  to 
oppose  Marlborough  on  the  northern  frontier,  the  command  of  the 
troops  in  Piedmont  was  given  to  the  duke  of  Orleans,  assisted  by  the 
duke  of  La  Feuillade  and  Marshal  Marsin,  all  of  them  full  of  zeal 
and  courage,  but  destitute  of  the  talent  and  experience  of  the  former 
general.  They  were  besieging  Turin,  when  Prince  Eugene,  by 
a  masterly  and  successful  march,  arrived  from  Germany  at  the 
head  of  fresh  forces  to  relieve  the  town.  The  French  were  attacked, 
and  in  spite  of  their  courageous  resistance,  were  forced  in  their  in- 
trenchments.  Their  loss  on  the  field  was  dreadful,  their  defeat  entire; 
and  the  battle,  as  disastrous  at  least  as  those  at  Ramillies  and  Hochs- 
tadt,  made  them  lose  all  their  conquests  in  Italy, 

Never  had  the  arms  of  the  conquering  Louis  received  so  severe  a 
check  as  during  this  fatal  campaign.  He  made  proposals  of  peace 
suggested  by  his  situation,  and  yet  could  not  satisfy  the  enemies  of 
France,  who,  elated  with  past  success,  expected  greater  advantages 
from  the  continuation  than  from  the  cessation  of  hostilities.  His 
affairs,  however,  as  well  as  those  of  Philip  V,  seemed  to  take  a  more 
favorable  turn  in  1707,  when  Marshal  Villars  defeated  the  imperialists 
at  Stolhofen,  and  Marshal  Berwick  gained,  at  Almanza  in  Spain,  a 
splendid  victory  over  the  united  troops  of  the  English,  Dutch  and 
Portuguese.  But  his  return  of  good  fortune  did  not  last  long;  Philip 
was  again  driven  from  the  capital  of  his  kingdom,  and  obliged  to  fly 


420  MODERN    H1STORV.  Par  VII. 

before  his  rr/al:  in  Flanders,  a  hundred  thousand  men,  under  the 
dukes  of  Burgundy  and  Vendome,  were  routed  at  Oudenardeby 
Eugene  and  MarlborOugh;  and  neither  that  numerous  army,  nor  the 
heroic  exertions  of  Marshal  Bouflers,  could  prevent  the  victorious 
generals  from  taking. the  city  of  Lille,  the  strongest  bulwark  of  France 
m  that  direction. 

The  dreadful  winter  of  1709  served  to  increase  the  misfortunes  of 
the  French  nation.  Nearly  all  the  fruit  trees  were  frozen,  and  the 
harvest  having  failed,  distress  and  famine  became  so  general  as  to 
render  it  scarcely  possible  to  provide  a  scanty  sustenance  for  the 
troops.  It  was  under  these  trying  circumstances  that  they  had  to 
fight  against  the  superior  force  of  the  allies  at  Malplaquet;  and  yet 
such  was  their  ardor  for  the  combat,  that,  although  they  had  spent  the 
day  before  without  eating,  they  threw  away  half  of  the  bread  which 
they  had  just  received,  in  order  to  rush  the  sooner  against  the  enemy. 
The  conflict  was  extremely  fierce  and  bloody,  the  French  especially 
fighting  with  desperate  courage,  till  Marshal  Villars  being  dangerously 
wounded,  they  began  to  give  way;  but  although  they  left  the  field, 
their  retreat  after  the  battle  was  so  well  conducted  by  Bouflers,  that 
not  one  man  was  taken  prisoner.  This  victory  of  the  allies,  if  vic- 
tory it  may  be  called,  cost  them  the  lives  of  twenty  thousand  men; 
the  French,  though  they  retreated,  had  not  lost  half  that  number. 

The  campaign  not  having  been  very  unfavorable  to  Louis,  he 
thought  he  could  again  without  dishonor  ask  for  peace;  among  other 
conditions  he  was  required  not  only  to  abandon  the  cause  of  his 
grand-son,  but  even  positively  to  concur  in  dethroning  and  expelling 
him  from  Spain.  At  the  news  of  this  harsh  proposal,  the  king 
exclaimed  that,  since  he  must  have  war,  he  preferred  to  carry  it  on 
against  his  enemies  rather  than  against  his  children.  The  whole 
nation,  equally  indignant  at  the  haughtiness  of  the  allies,  approved 
of  his  generous  resolution  and  appeared  ready  to  sacrifice  their  pro- 
perty and  their  lives  for  the  honor  of  the  kingdom,  the  glory  of  their 
aged  monarch,  and  the  support  of  a  just  and  necessary  contest.  In 
conformity  with  these  sentiments,  new  soldiers  enlisted  for  the  army, 
and  money  was  still  found  to  bear  the  expenses  of  the  war. 

Philip  V,  who  had  also  been  reduced  to  the  greatest  distress  in  his 
disputed  kingdom  of  Spain,  displayed  the  same  constancy  and 
obtained  the  same  success.  Well  aware  that  his  grand-father  could 
not  furnish  him  with  troops,  he  contented  himself  with  asking  for 
the  services  of  the  duke  of  Vendome,  a  general  in  whom  he  placed 
entire  confidence.  His  hopes  were  quickly  realized :  the  duke  had 
no  sooner  arrived  in  Spain,  than  soldiers,  through  esteem  for  his  well- 
known  abilities,  flocked  to  his  standard  from  all  sides;  in  a  short 
time,  he  had  collected  an  army  of  thirty  thousand  men,  with  whom 


*,  D.  1700-1715.    SUCCESSION  OF  SPAIN,  ETC.  421 

he  retook  Madrid,  and  immediately  went  in  search  of  the  confede- 
rates, to  give  them  battle.  Having  overtaken  them  on  the  ninth  of 
December  (A.  D.  1710),  he  first  surprised  a  body  of  five  thousand 
English,  who  were  all  made  prisoners  with  their  general  Stanhope, 
and,  on  the  following  day,  he  gained  over  the  earl  of  Starenberg  the 
decisive  though  long  disputed  victory  of  Villa  Viciosa,  which  secured 
the  Spanish  crown  upon  the  head  of  Philip.  This  prince  was  present  in 
the  battle,  and  fought  with  great  courage;  when  worn  out  with  fatigue, 
he  slept  upon  the  most  glorious  bed  that  a  conqueror  ever  had,  a 
bed  made,  by  order  of  Vendome,  of  banners  taken  from  the  enemy. 

Another  unexpected  event  greatly  attracted  the  attention  of  the 
politicians  of  the  age.  The  emperor  Joseph  I,  who  in  1705  had 
succeeded  his  father  Leopold  on  the  German  throne,  died  in  1711, 
and  his  brother  the  archduke,  who  had  so  long  contended  for  the 
sceptre  of  Spain,  became  emperor  under  the  name  of  Charles  VI. 
This  entirely  changed  the  prospect  of  the  war;  for,  had  this  prince 
been  allowed  to  reign  both  over  Spain  and  the  empire,  that  balance 
of  power,  for  the  preservation  of  which  nearly  all  Europe  had  arisen 
against  the  house  of  Bourbon,  would  have  been  effectually  destroyed 
by  the  unavoidable  preponderance  of  the  house  of  Austria.  Influ- 
enced by  this  and  other  considerations,  Great  Britain  began  to  listen 
to  overtures  of  peace  from  France,  and,  besides  dismissing  Marlbo- 
rough  from  the  command  of  the  army,  gradually  withdrew  her  forces 
from  the  confederacy. 

This  was  an  important  point;  but,  as  the  remaining  allies  still 
maintained  at  the  northern  frontier  a  formidable  force  under  the  com- 
mand of  Prince  Eugene,  and  kept  France  in  constant  danger  of  inva- 
sion, much  was  yet  to  be  feared  for  that  monarchy.  The  king  him- 
self, with  all  his  firmness,  could  not  conceal  his  anxiety  when  Villars 
took  leave  of  him  to  go  and  rejoin  the  army  in  Flanders.  "  Sire," 
said  the  marshal  with  emotion,  "this  is  your  last  army!"  The  king 
answered:  "I  rely  upon  your  zeal,  and  upon  the  bravery  of  my 
troops.  Go  then,  and  fight  the  enemy  wherever  you  can  find  him. 
If,  by  some  accident,  you  happen  to  be  conquered,  write  to  me  alone: 
I  know  the  devotedness  of  my  people ;  I  will  raise  a  hundred  thou- 
sand soldiers  more;  and  we  will  go  together,  either  to  repair  all  our 
disasters  at  once,  or  bury  ourselves  under  the  ruins  of  the  monarchy" 
(A.  D.  1712). 

This  magnanimous  design  was  never  put  in  execution,  as  it  soon 
became  known  that  Villars,  by  a  skilful  and  bold  attack,  had  destroyed 
the  army  of  prince  Eugene  at  Denairi.  The  different  posts  of  that 
army  being  too  distant  from  each  other,  the  French  successively 
assaulted  them  with  equal  promptness  and  success,  bore  down  every 
obstacle,  and,  besides  destroying  the  enemy's  best  troops,  took  a  great 
36 


422  MODERN    HISTORY.  Pan  vil. 

number  of  prisoners,  with  a  prodigious  quantity  of  ordnance,  ammu- 
nition, provisions,  etc.  This  brilliant  victory  not  only  saved  France 
from  utter  ruin,  but  suddenly  gave  her  a  superiority  of  which  it  was 
no  longer  in  the  power  of  her  enemies  to  deprive  her,  and,  being  fol- 
lowed by  the  rapid  conquest  of  several  towns  and  fortresses,  accelerated 
the  conclusion  of  peace:  It  was  signed  at  Utrecht,  in  1713,  by  nearly 
all  the  belligerent  powers,  who  agreed  upon  a  variety  of  mutual  con- 
cessions, the  principal  of  which  was  the  solemn  recognition  of  Philip 

V  as  king  of  Spain  and  of  the  West  Indies.     The  emperor,  his  rival, 
was  offered,  in  compensation  for  the  loss  of  Spain,  several  valuable 
provinces  in  Italy  and  the  Netherlands;  still,  of  all  the  allies,  he  was 
tne  only  one  who  refused  the  treaty.     Hostilities  therefore  continued 
for  some  time  longer  near  the  banks  of  the  Rhine,  till  Villars  having 
gained  new  and  important  advantages  over  Prince  Eugene,  Charles 

VI  thought  it  prudent  to  yield.     A  treaty  was  then  concluded  at 
Radstad  (A.  D.  1714)  between  that  prince  and  France,  upon  terms 
substantially  the  same,  yet  a  little  less  favorable  to  him  than  those 
which  he  had  rejected  at  Utrecht. 

Thus  did  Louis  XIV,  after  a  long  series  of  disasters,  secure  by  his 
courage  and  unshaken  constancy  a  peace  more  glorious  than  that 
which  he  had  obtained  at  Ryswick  by  the  splendid  victories  of  Lux- 
embourg and  Catinat.  One  year  later  (1715),  this  monarch,  by  far 
the  most  conspicuous  of  his  age,  ended  at  the  age  of  sevemy-seven, 
a  magnificent  reign  of  seventy-two  years.  He  had  lately  seen  most 
of  the  princes  of  his  family,  among  others  the  pupil  of  the  immortal 
Fenelon,  descend  before  him  into  the  grave;  their  loss,  though  most 
painful  to  his  paternal  feelings,  he  had  sustained  with  his  usual  firm- 
ness and  Christian  magnanimity  :  the  approach  of  his  own  death  had 
no  greater  power  to  frighten  or  even  disturb  his  noble  soul.  Nothing 
then  appeared  in  him  but  piety,  meekness  and  resignation.  His  last 
moments  were  those  of  a  truly  Christian  and  great  monarch;  of  one 
who  humbly  acknowledges  his  faults  in  the  hope  of  obtaining  the 
divine  mercy;  who  willingly  leaves  all  earthly  honors  because  he 
knows  their  emptiness,  and  departs  this  life  even  with  joy,  because 
he  expects  a  much  better  and  happier  one  in  the  heavenly  kingdom. 


DECLINE  OF  THE  TURKS.-A.  D.  1683—1718. 

WE  shall  now,  after  a  long  interruption,  revert  to  the  affairs  of 
the  Turks.  The  battle  of  Lepanto  had  long  since  proved  that  their 
progress  could  be  checked ;  and  the  signal  defeats  they  afterwards  ex- 
perienced in  Hungary  and  Poland,  were  no  less  calculated  to  remove 


A.  D.  1683-1718.       DECLINE    OF   THE    TURKS.  423 

from  their  minds  the  notion  that  all  Europe  must  pass  under  their  sway. 
Yet,  that  warlike  ardor  which  had  so  long  animated  their  troops,  still 
subsisted  among  them,  and,  being  again  stirred  up  by  the  conquest 
of  Candia,  could  not  be  extinguished  by  the  new  losses  which  they 
suffered  in  Poland  from  the  great  general  Sobieski.  The  Janizaries 
loudly  called  for  new  combats;  and  in  1683,  Vienna,  the  capital  of 
Austria,  was  invested  by  two  hundred  thousand  men,  Turks  and 
Tartars.  As  there  was  not  in  all  Germany  a  force  sufficient  to  op- 
pose such  a  host  of  enemies,  the  emperor  Leopold  with  his  family  fled 
at  their- approach;  despondency  and  consternation  reigned  every 
where;  and,  though  Vienna  possessed  a  brave  garrison,  and  an  excel- 
lent commander  in  the  earl  of  Starenberg,  the  ruin  of  that  city  seemed 
inevitable. 

In  this  new  danger  to  which  Christendom  was  exposed,  Pope 
Innocent  XI  had  raised  his  voice  to  solicit  the  succor  of  Catholic 
princes  and  nations,  applying  chiefly  to  the  great  Sobieski,  whom 
numerous  exploits  and  conspicuous  virtues  had  lately  raised  to  the 
throne  of  Poland.  That  hero  had  several  subjects  of  complaint 
against  Leopold;  but,  generously  sacrificing  his  resentment  to  the 
public  good,  he  hastened  at  the  head  of  twenty-four  thousand  war- 
riors, and  joined  the  imperial  troops  commanded  by  the  duke  of  Lor- 
raine. As  soon  as  this  junction  was  effected,  they  descended  the 
mountains,  and  attacked  the  Turkish  camp  at  three  different  points. 
The  Turks,  seized  with  a  sudden  panic,  were  routed  almost  without 
resistance;  their  spirits  had  already  drooped  in  consequence  of  the 
length  of  the  siege,  and  the  numerous  blunders  of  their  general  Kara 
Mustapha ;  and  now  their  flight  was  so  precipitate  that  they  left 
behind  them,  among  other  spoils,  one  hundred  thousand  tents,  three 
hundred  pieces  of  artillery,  and  nearly  five  thousand  barrels  of  gun- 
powder. 

The  conquerors,  not  satisfied  with  the  liberation  of  Vienna  and  of 
all  Germany,  were  eager  to  improve  their  victory  by  a  warm  pursuit 
of  the  fugitives.  During  this  expedition,  King  Sobieski  having  on 
one  occasion  attacked  the  Turks  too  hastily,  was  repulsed  with  great 
loss;  but  he  took  ample  revenge  two  days  after,  by  cutting  in  pieces 
a  body  of  twenty -five  thousand  men  near  the  banks  of  the  Danube. 
He  then  returned  to  Poland,  leaving  the  conduct  of  the  war  to  the 
brave  duke  of  Lorraine,  who  not  only  continued  to  drive  the  Turks 
before  him,  but  also  made  important  and  extensive  conquests.  These 
advantages  were  secured  by  a  new  and  brilliant  victory  gained  (A.  D. 
1687)  in  the  plains  of  Mohats,  the  very  same  spot  on  which  the 
Austrians  and  Hungarians  had  experienced  an  entire  overthrow  one 
hundred  and  sixty  years  before. 

During  the  following  campaigns,  until  1698,  and  also  at  the  re- 


424  MODERN    HISTORY.  Part  VI I 

newal  of  the  war  in  1716,  the  house  of  Austria,  well  served  all  that 
time  by  zealous  and  skilful  generals,  again  defeated  the  Ottomans  in 
several  battles.  Their  most  formidable  enemy,  during  this  period,  was 
Prince  Eugene  of  Savoy,  who  gained  over  them  the  decisive  victo- 
ries of  Zenta,  Peterwaradin  and  Belgrade.  These  bloody  contests 
ended  in  the  treaties  of  Carlowitz  (1699)  and  Passarowitz  (1718), 
both  of  which  showed  the  enormous  losses  lately  sustained  by  the 
Turks,  and  the  incontestable  superiority  no\v  possessed  by  Christian 
Europe  over  their  once  dreaded  and  formidable  empire. 


RISE    OF    PRUSSIA    AND    RUSSIA.— PETER    THE    GREAT.- 
CHARLES   XII,   KING  OF   SWEDEN.— A.  D.  1639—1725. 

THE  rapid  decline  of  the  Turks  in  the  scale  of  power  and  political 
importance,  coincided  with  the  sudden  rise  of  Prussia  and  Russia  to 
a  high  rank  among  the  European  nations.  Christianity  and  civili- 
zation had  begun  to  be  introduced  into  Prussia  towards  the  close  of 
the  crusades ;  since  that  time,  it  had  been  governed  by  the  Grand- 
Masters  of  the  Teutonic  Order,  and  then  by  the  princes  of  the  house 
of  Brandenburg,  under  the  title  of  dukes.  In  1701,  it  arose  to  the 
dignity  of  a  kingdom,  the  title  of  /ting-  being  then  conferred  by  the 
emperor  of  Germany  on  the  elector  of  Brandenburg,  Frederick  I. 
Prussia  became  flourishing  and  powerful  during  the  reign  of  the 
next  monarch,  Frederic  William,  and  still  more  so  under  his  son  and 
successor,  Frederick  II,  whom  we  shall  see,  after  a  short  time, 
giving  a  strong  and  lasting  impulse  to  the  general  affairs  of  Europe. 

Russia  is  also  known  to  have  been  governed  by  a  long  series  of 
dukes,  and  of  princes  called  Czars,  under  whom  it  remained  almost 
totally  uncivilized,  until  the  accession  of  Peter  I,  which  took  place 
in  1689.  This  prince,  possessed  of  an  active  mind  and  a  superior 
genius,  incessantly  applied  himself  to  improve  the  condition  of  his 
nation,  and  to  render  it  conspicuous  above  the  neighboring  states. 
He  twice  left  his  dominions,  and  travelled  through  different  countries, 
in  order  to  acquire,  by  experience,  a  knowledge  of  the  various  arts, 
institutions  and  practices  which  it  might  be  useful  to  introduce  among 
his  subjects.  Being  attacked  by  conspirators  and  rebels,  he  overcame 
them  all,  and  punished  them  with  inexorable  severity. 

In  the  year  1699,  Peter  formed  with  the  kings  of  Poland  anti  Den- 
mark a  coalition  against  Charles  XII,  king  of  Sweden,  in  the  hope 
of  wresting  some  provinces  from  that  young  prince,  then  only  in  his 
eighteenth  year;  but  it  soon  appeared  that  the  allied  monarchs  had 
relied  too  much  for  success  upon  his  youth.  Charles  already  united 
the  talents  of  a  general  with  the  intrepidity  of  a  warrior.  Fired  with 


A.  D.  I68a-i725.      PRUSSIA  AND  RUSSIA,  ETC.  425 

indignation,  and  seconded  by  his  brave  Swedes,  he  successively  over- 
ran Denmark,  Saxony  and  Poland,  crossing  rivers,  capturing  towns, 
defeating  armies,  and  carrying  every  thing  before  him.  So  continual 
and  decisive  were  his  victories,  that  the  king  of  Denmark  was  very 
soon  forced  to  accept  such  conditions  as  it  pleased  Charles.to  impose 
en  him;  and  the  king  of  Poland,  who  had  offered  a  greater  resistance, 
found  himself  compelled  to  resign  his  crown  to  Stanislaus  Leckzin- 
ski,  whom  the  conqueror  protected.' 

The  exertions  of  the  Swedish  hero  against  the  Hussinns  were  also 
for  a  long  time  extraordinarily  successful.  He  defeated  them  in 
several  engagements,  particularly  in  the  famous  battle  of  Narva, 
where,  with  only  eight  thousand  men,  he  destroyed  an  army  of 
e-ighty  thousand  Muscovites,  fifty  thousand  of  whom  were  slain, 
drowned,  or  taken  prisoners,  and  the  rest  dispersed.  Having  at  last 
advanced  too  far  into  Russia,  he  lost  in  two  h-ours,  near  Pultawa,  the 
fruit  of  nine  years'  success  (A.  D.  1709).  His  half-famished  and  ex- 
hausted army  being  overpowered  by  numbers,  experienced  a  most 
s'gnul  overthrow,  and  Charles  himself,  wounded  and  forced  to  leave 
liie  field,  with  difficulty  escaped  to  Bender,  a  Turkish  town  in  Bes- 
stiral.ia.  There  he  spent  a  long  time  in  endeavoring  to  engage  the 
Ottoman  Porte  in  a  war  with  the  Russians.  Seeing  the  little  success 
which  attended  his  efforts,  he  resolved,  after  an  absence  of  five  years 
and  many  adventures  worthy  of  a  romantic  hero,  to  return  through 
Germany  to  Sweden,  which  he  found  in  a  miserable  condition,  with- 
out troops,  without  money,  without  resources,  and  attacked  on  all 
sides  by  her  numerous  enemies.  Charles  made  desperate  exertions 
to  defend  his  kingdom  and  retrieve  his  losses,  but  he  did  not  live  to 
recover  his  former  ascendency,  being  killed  by  a  musket  ball  at  the 
siege  of  Fredericshall,  a  town  of  Norway,  in  1718.  His  death  was 
the  signal  for  a  general  cessation  of  hostilities ;  and  Sweden  hastened 
to  conclude  a  peace,  disadvantageous  indeed,  but  required  by  the 
situation  of  her  affairs. 

These  events  allowed  the  Czar  to  carry  his  views  of  improvement 
fully  into  execution.  In  the  course  of  a  few  years,  Russia  beheld 
with  admiration  the  establishment  in  her  cities,  of  schools,  academies, 
manufactories,  arsenals,  and  the  rapid  rise  of  St.  Petersburg,  her  pre- 
sent capital.  A  powerful  navy  was  created;  harbors  were  opened 
on  the  Black  and  Baltic  seas,  to  shelter  numerous  ships  of  the  line, 
as  v/ell  as  frigates  and  merchant  vessels;  the  standing  army  was 
trained  in  all  the  exercises  of  military  discipline;  laws  were  enacted 
and  measures  adopted  to  amend  the  defects  and  polish  the  manners 
of  the  people.  A  prudent  management  of  the  public  revenue  enabled 
Peter  to  accomplish  his  grand  and  extensive  designs  without  oppres- 
sing his  subjects.  By  these  noble  efforts,  occasionally  disgraced  how' 


426  310DERN    HISTORY.  Part  VII 

ever  by  acts  of  cruelty,  this  prince  not  only  laid  the  foundation,  but 
also  raised  the  superstructure  of  Russian  greatness,  and  secured  to 
himself  the  surname  of  Great.  He  died  in  1725. 


WESTERN   EUROPE  FROM  THE  DEATH  OF  LOUIS  XIV  IN 
1715  TO  THE  TREATY  OF  VIENNA  IN  1735. 


The  other  leading  sovereigns  in  Europe  at  this  time  were:  Charles 
VI  in  Germany,  Philip  V  in  Spain,  Louis  XV  in  France  under  the 
regency  of  the  duke  of  Orleans,  and  in  England  George  I,  a  prince 
of  the  house  of  Brunswick,  who,  upon  the  death  of  Queen  Anne, 
had  been  called  to  the  throne  in  preference  to  the  surviving  members 
of  the  house  of  Stuart.  Peace  continued  among  these  different  courts 
for  the  space  of  twenty-five  years  (1715 — 1740),  except  during  two 
very  short  wars,  one  in  1718,  the  other  in  1733. 

Spain  under  Philip  V  was  governed  in  the  beginning  by  Cardinal 
Julius  Alberoni,  whose  bold  and  vast  genius,  not  satisfied  with  regu- 
lating the  internal  concerns  of  that  kingdom,  undertook  also  to  change 
the  whole  political  system  of  Europe.  His  general  view  was  to  raise 
Spain  again  to  the  pinnacle  of  active  influence  and  power;  in  parti- 
cular he  intended  1°.  to  engage  the  Russians  in  a  war  against  Aus- 
tria, and,  through  this  powerful  help,  wrest  from  the  emperor's  hands 
that  part  of  Italy  which  the  treaty  of  Utrecht  had  allotted  to  him  out 
of  the  Spanish  possessions.  2°.  his  object  was  to  dethrone  the  Bri- 
tish king  George  I,  in  favor  of  the  son  of  James  II,  called  the  preten- 
der; and  3°.  to  transfer  the  regency  of  France,  during  the  minority 
of  Louis  XV,  from  the  duke  of  Orleans  to  the  Spanish  monarch. 
Had  these  projects  been  successful,  Alberoni  would  have  gained  a 
reputation,  if  not  superior,  at  least  equal  to  that  of  Ximenes  and 
Richelieu;  but  all  his  brilliant  schemes  were  baffled  by  the  vigilance 
and  activity  of  the  interested  parties.  The  quadruple  alliance  formed 
by  Germany,  England,  France  and  Holland  against  Spain,  com- 
pelled Philip  V  to  adopt  views  very  different  from  those  of  his  min- 
ister; the  Spanish  troops,  who  had  already  entered  Sicily  and  Sar- 
dinia, were  obliged  to  evacuate  those  islands,  and  Alberoni  fell  into 
disgrace  (A.  D.  1720). 

Next  came  the  war  for  the  succession  of  Poland,  in  1733.  After 
the  death  of  Augustus  II,  Stanislaus  Leckzinski,  who  had  already, 
though  for  a  short  time,  occupied  the  Polish  throne  under  the  protec- 
tion of  Charles  XII,  was  a  second  time  chosen  king.  But  the 
emperor  Charles  VI  having,  with  the  help  of  the  Russians,  obligee' 
the  Poles  to  set  about  a  new  election,  the  elector  of  Saxony  nis  kins- 


A  .,,  1733-1747         EASTERN  EUROPE,  ETC.  427 

man,  was  raised  to  that  high  dignity  under  the  name  of  Augustus  III, 
ard  Stanislaus,  as  formerly,  was  forced  to  abandon  his  crown. 

Louis  XV  thought  himself  injured  in  the  person  of  this  prince, 
who  had  become  his  father-in-law,  and  he  determined  to  be  revenged 
on  the  emperor.  The  more  surely  to  effect  his  purpose,  he  entered 
into  an  alliance,  not  only  with  the  court  of  Spain,  now  almost  con- 
stantly hostile  to  the  house  of  Austria,  but  also  with  the  king  of  Sar- 
dinia, formerly  duke  of  Savoy,  and  war  was  begun  at  the  same  time 
on  the  German  frontier  near  the  Rhine,  and  in  different  parts  of  Italy. 
Philipsburg  was  invested  by  a  gallant  army  under  Marshal  Berwick, 
and  although  this  experienced  commander  was  killed  by  a  cannon 
ball  whilst  visiting  the  trenches,  the  place  was  taken,  notwithstanding 
the  presence  of  Prince  Eugene,  who  being  destitute  of  the  energy  of 
youth,  did  not  dare  hazard  a  battle,  to  prevent  its  surrender.  The 
French  were  not  less  successful  in  Italy,  where  Marshal  Villars 
cio-cd  his  military  career  by  the  capture  of  Milan,  and  Marshal 
Coign y,  his  successor,  gained  the  bloody  victories  of  Parma  and 
Guastalln.  In  the  south,  still  more  rapid  was  the  progress  of  the 
Spaniards  under  the  duke  of  Montemar  and  Don  Carlos,  son  of 
Philip  V;  they  defeated  the  imperialists  in  the  decisive  battle  of 
Bitonto,  and,  in  two  campaigns,  rendered  themselves  masters  of  the 
kingdom  of  Naples  and  of  the  island  of  Sicily. 

Thus  vanquished  at  every  point,  the  emperor  intimated  a  desire 
of  peace,  the  principal  terms  of  which  were  arranged  at  Vienna  1735. 
By  this  treaty  it  was  stipulated  that  Stanislaus,  instead  of  the  crown 
of  Poland,  should  enjoy  the  duchies  of  Lorraine  and  Bar,  under  the 
title  of  king,  and  that,  after  his  death,  these  duchies  should  be  for  ever 
annexed  to  France;  that  the  duke  of  Lorraine,  the  emperor's  ally, 
should  have  Tuscany  in  exchange  for  his  hereditary  dominions;  in 
fine,  that,  whilst  the  king  of  Sardinia  would  gain  some  districts  in  the 
north  of  Italy,  the  kingdoms  of  Naples  and  Sicily  should  be  left  to 
the  house  of  Bourbon,  in  the  person  of  Don  Carlos.  In  consideration 
of  these  cessions,  Louis  XV  agreed  to  restore  to  the  empire  his  late 
conquests  near  the  Rhine. 


EASTERN  EUROPE-THAMAS  KOULI  KAN,  OR  NADIR 

SCHAH,  THE  PERSIAN  CONQUEROR,  ETC. 

A.  D.  1736—1747. 


SCARCELY  was  this  peace  negotiated,  when  a  fresh  war  broke  out 
between  the  Russians  and  the  Turks,  in  which  Charles  VI,  owing 
to  nii  intimate  alliance  with  Russia,  found  himself  involved.  He 


428  MODERN  HISTORY.  Part VII. 

resolved  to  attack  the  Ottomans  in  the  direction  of  Hungary,  while 
his  allies  pressed  them  on  the  borders  of  the  Black  sea;  but  the  im- 
perial commanders  were  repeatedly  defeated,  several  important  places 
were  lost,  and,  as  little  hope  remained  to  retrieve  these  disasters,  the 
emperor  had  recourse  to  the  mediation  of  France  for  the  conclusion 
of  a  new  treaty.  Anne  also,  the  Russian  empress,  though  recently 
victorious  at  Choczim,  consented,  for  fear  of  being  deserted  by  her 
ally,  to  a  negotiation.  The  Turks,  under  circumstances  so  favorable 
to  them,  obtained  an  advantageous  peace;  the  emperor  ceded  to  them 
Belgrade  with  two  provinces,  and  the  Czarina  agreed  to  withdraw 
her  troops  from  the  city  and  territory  of  Azof,  so  as  to  reestablish  the 
limits  between  the  Turkish  and  Russian  empires  as  they  were  before 
the  commencement  of  hostilities  (A.  D.  1739). 

That  treaty,  how  glorious  soever  to  the  Ottomans,  did  not  long 
retard  their  decline;  the  Russians  soon  reassumed  the  ascendency, 
and  even  about  this  time,  the  Turks  were  rather  unsuccessful  in  a 
war  which  they  had  against  Persia.  Having  subdued,  between  the 
years  1723  and  1733,  rich  and  extensive  provinces,  their  career  of 
success  was  at  length  stopped  by  the  famous  Nadir  Schah,  or 
Thamas  Kouli  Kan,  who,  after  fighting  the  battles  of  his  sovereign 
Schah  Thamas  against  powerful  rebels,  usurped  the  Persian  throne. 
He  renewed  the  foreign  war  which  had  ceased  for  a  while,  and, 
though  defeated  three  times  in  succession  by  Topal  Osman,  a  brave 
and  skilful  general,  victory  declared  in  his  favor  on  every  other  occa- 
sion, and  the  Turks  were  compelled  to  give  up  what  they  had  lately 
conquered. 

After  this,  Nadir  Schah,  who  seemed  to  have  inherited  the  enter- 
prising spirit  of  Genghis  Kan  and  Tamerlane,  turned  his  arms  against 
the  rich  empire  of  Hindostan.  With  only  sixty  thousand  warriors, 
he  destroyed  or  dispersed  an  army  of  twelve  hundred  thousand  Hin- 
doos and  Moguls,  took  Delhi,  their  capital  city,  and  returned  with 
so  prodigious  a  quantity  of  pearls,  gold  and  silver,  that  the  amount  is 
commonly  estimated  to  have  been  upwards  of  a  billion  of  dollais. 
He  did  not  long  enjoy  these  fruits  of  his  insatiable  avidity:  not  less 
dreaded  by  his  subjects  for  his  cruelty  than  by  his  enemies  for  his 
valor,  he  fell  a  victim  to  a  conspiracy,  and  was  assassinated  in  his 
tent  (A.  D.  1747).  His  death  was  followed  by  a  series  of  revolutions 
so  bloody  and  destructive,  that  the  populous  city  of  Ispahan  saw, 
within  a  few  years,  the  number  of  its  inhabitants  reduced  from  a  mil- 
lion to  a  few  thousand  persons,  and  a  long  time  elapsed  before  Persia 
could  even  begin  to  recover  from  her  astounding  calamities. 


t.  D,  1740-1748.     SUCCESSION  OF  AUSTRIA;  ETC.          429 


WAR  FOR  THE  SUCCESSION  OF  AUSTRIA.— THE  PRETEN- 
DER IN  ENGLAND  AND  SCOTLAND.— A.  D.  1740—1748. 


THE  death  of  the  emperor  Charles  VI  without  male  issue,  in  1740, 
threw  all  Europe  again  into  war.  in  virtue  of  a  previous  agreement 
called  the  Pragmatic  sanction,  and  also  by  the  emperor's  last  will,  his 
hereditary  dominions  of  Austria,  Bohemia  and  Hungary,  belonged  to 
his  eldest  daughter,  Maria  Theresa,  who  had  lately  married  Francis, 
duke  of  Lorraine.  Her  claims  were  supported  chiefly  by  England 
and  Holland,  but  opposed  by  Spain,  Prussia  and  Saxony,  whose 
sovereigns  brought  forward  different  claims  to  a  share  in  that  im- 
mense inheritance,  and  especially  by  the  elector  of  Bavaria,  who 
caused  himself  to  be  proclaimed  emperor  at  Frankfort,  under  the  pro- 
tection of  the  French  armies,  and  with  the  name  of  Charles  VII. 

Every  thing  at  first  prospered  according  to  his  wishes,  and  the 
wishes  of  his  allies;  Austria,  Bohemia  and  Silesia  were  invaded  by 
their  troops,  so  as  to  oblige  Maria  Theresa  to  take  refuge  in  Hungary. 
She  appeared  amidst  the  Hungarian  nobles  in  the  city  of  Presburg, 
holding  her  young  son,  afterwards  Joseph  II,  in  her  arms,  and 
earnestly  recommending  him  to  their  fidelity.  This  affecting  scene 
moved  the  assembly  to  tears;  all  swore  to  die,  if  necessary,  for  their 
sovereign,  Maria  Theresa,*  and  she  was  instantly  supplied  with  a 
fresh  army  zealously  devoted  to  her  interests.  By  a  sudden  change 
of  fortune,  her  competitor  Charles  VII  was  not  only  driven  from  his 
conquests,  but  even  stripped  for  a  time  of  his  own  hereditary  domi- 
nions; he  died  shortly  after  at  Munich,  more  of  grief  than  of  disease. 

It  might  have  been  expected  that  his  death,  and  the  general  acknow- 
ledgment, on  the  part  of  the  German  princes,  of  Francis  of  Lorraine 
as  emperor,  would  put  an  end  to  these  bloody  quarrels;  and  in  fact, 
some  of  the  belligerent  powers  hastened  to  conclude  separate  treaties 
of  alliance;  but  the  high  pretensions  of  some  others,  particularly  of 
Great  Britain  and  of  the  queen  of  Hungary,  protracted  the  war  for 
three  or  four  years  longer.  It  was  prosecuted  with  vigor  chiefly  by 
the  English  and  French,  who  thus,  from,  mere  auxiliaries,  became  the 
principal  actors. 

Even  before  the  death  of  Charle?  VII,  the  king  of  England,  George 
II,  had  taken  the  command  of  the  British  and  allied  forces  in  Ger- 
many. He  was  marching  forward  to  join  an  additional  body  of 
auxiliary  troops,  when,  near  the  village  of  Dettingen,  he  saw  himself 
almost  surrounded  by  the  enemy,  and  reduced  to  a  very  critical  situ- 


*  Moriamur  pro  rege  nostro  Marid  Theresd,;  such  was  their  sudden  and 
i.'nanimous  exclamation. 


430  MODERN    HISTORY  Tart  VII. 

ation.  In  effect,  by  the  masterly  manoeuvres  of  the  French  genera!, 
Marshal  de  Noailles,  all  supplies  were  cut  off;  the  neighboring  hills 
were  covered  with  a  formidable  artillery  ;  and,  had  not  the  duke  of 
Grammont's  rash  descent  from  the  defiles  into  the  plain  with  a  por- 
tion of  the  army,  given  the  allies  an  opportunity  of  fighting  on  equal 
terms,  a  surrender,  or  total  destruction  would,  in  all  probability,  have 
been  the  consequence.  The  French  charged,  as  usual,  with  impetu- 
osity ;  but  the  English,  animated  by  the  presence  of  their  king  and  of 
his  son,  the  duke  of  Cumberland,  received  the  shock  with  undaunted 
valor.  After  three  hours  fighting,  the  assailants  were  repulsed, 
having  lost  five  thousand  men,  killed,  wounded  and  prisoners 
(A.  D.  1743). 

Two  years  after,  Louis  XV  and  his  son,  the  dauphin,  in  their 
turn  defeated  the  army  of  the  allies.  The  French  king,  having  a 
large  number  of  excellent  troops  commanded,  under  him,  by  Marshal 
Saxe,  invested  Tournay,  one  of  the  strongest  towns  in  the  Austrian 
Netherlands,  and  perhaps  the  most  important  place  on  that  frontier. 
The  combined  forces  of  the  British,  Dutch  and  Hanoverians,  amount- 
ing to  about  fifty  thousand  men  under  the  command  of  the  duke  of 
Cumberland,  advanced  to  its  relief,  and  attacked  the  French,  who  had 
posted  themselves  on  a  rising  ground  in  front  of  the  village  of  Fon- 
tenoy.  The  battle  began  at  nine  in  the  morning,  and  lasted  till  three 
in  the  afternoon,  being  maintained  all  that  time  with  equal  courage 
by  the  two  parties.  Although  the  fire  from  the  French  batteries  was 
so  heavy  that  it  swept  off  whole  ranks  at  a  single  discharge,  the  Bri- 
tish infantry,  in  the  form  of  a  close  column,  continued  to  advance  as 
if  they  had  been  invulnerable,  and  the  French  began  to  give  way. 
Marshal  Saxe,  fearing  a  total  overthrow,  sent  advice  to  the  king  to 
provide  for  his  safety  by  a  timely  retreat;  but  Louis  refused  to  quit  his 
post,  and  his  firmness  contributed  to  gain  the  honor  of  the  day.  At 
the  suggestion  of  Marshal  Richelieu,  a  fresh  battery  was  erected  just 
opposite  to  the  front  of  the  English  column,  at  the  distance  of  a  few 
paces  only;  whilst  it  played  upon  them  with  dreadful  execution,  the 
French  returned  to  the  charge,  and,  after  seven  or  eight  minutes  of 
heroic  efforts  on  both  sides,  finally  compelled  the  enemy  to  retreat, 
with  the  loss  of  twelve  or  fifteen  thousand  men.  The  surrender  of 
Tournay,  and  of  many  other  fortified  towns  in  the  Austrian  Flanders, 
was  the  fruit  of  this  great  victory.  + 

The  following  years  equally  exhibited  a  vicissitude  of  good  and  iL 
success.  The  French  armies  experienced  signal  defeats  at  Plaisance 
and  Exilles  in  Italy,  but  were  victorious  in  the  great  battles  of  Rau- 
coux  and  Laufeld,  which  rendered  them  masters  of  the  Nether- 
lands. At  last,  by  the  skilful  movements  of  Marshal  Saxe  and 
Count  Lowendhal,  they  began  to  penetrate  into  Holland,  carried  by 


A.  D.  1740-1748.    SUCCESSION  OF  AUSTRIA,  ETC.  431 

storm  cities  and  fortresses  that  were  deemed  impregnable,  and  by 
this  rapid  success  obliged  the  allied  powers  to  receive  the  favorable 
conditions  of  peace  which  Louis  XV  had  been  offering  to  them  since 
the  year  1744.  He  made  no  difficulty  to  acknowledge  Maria  Theresa 
for  the  lawful  heiress  of  Charles  VI,  willingly  restored  his  con- 
quests, and  contented  himself  with  securing  reasonable  advantages 
for  his  own  allies,  saying  that  he  wished  to  treat  of  peace,  not  as  a 
merchant,  but  as  a  king.  This  treaty  was  signed  at  Aix-la-Chapelle, 
in  October  1748. 

Some  time  before  its  conclusion,  and  while  the  British  forces  were 
yet  employed  on  the  continent,  Charles  Edward,  the  grand-son  of 
James  II,  the  dethroned  king  of  England,  undertook  to  revive  the 
claims  of  his  family  by  an  invasion  of  that  country.  He  first  landed 
on  the  shores  of  Scotland  with  one  single  frigate,  some  ammunition 
and  a  few  officers.  The  public  assertion  of  his  rights,  his  promise 
of  a  just  government,  and  the  brilliant  qualities  of  his  person,  soon 
gathered  around  him  a  little  army,  with  which  he  immediately  took 
the  field.  His  first  exploits  were  the  capture  of  Edinburgh  and  the 
total  overthrow  of  four  thousand  Englishmen  at  Prestonpans;  he  then 
proceeded  into  England,  took  the  city  of  Carlisle,  and  advanced  as 
far  as  Derby,  within  eighty  or  ninety  miles  of  London,  when  the 
approach  of  the  duke  of  Cumberland  at  the  head  of  superior  forces 
obliged  him  to  retreat  with  some  disadvantage,  though  in  good  order. 
The  victory  of  Falkirk,  which  he  gained  in  January,  1746,  revived 
his  hopes;  but  his  subsequent  defeat  at  Culloden  blasted  them  for 
ever.  Being  now  destitute  of  money  and  troops,  without  any  sure 
asylum,  constantly  pursued  by  his  enemies,  always  in  danger  of  fall- 
ing into  their  hands,  and  of  ending  his  career  upon  a  scaffold,  want- 
ing food  and  garments,  wandering  from  place  to  place  and  from 
cavern  to  cavern,  he  exhausted,  as  it  were,  all  the  rigors  of  misfor- 
tune, and  endured  them  with  so  heroic  fortitude,  as  to  gain  the  admi- 
ration of  the  whole  world. 

In  the  midst  of  his  calamities,  and  although  the  sum  of  thirty  thou- 
sand pounds  was  offered  as  the  reward  of  his  capture,  he  had  the 
happiness  never  to  be  betrayed  by  any  one,  not  even  by  the  poor 
who  happened  to  recognize  him  under  his  various  disguises.  As  he 
was  once  quite  exhausted,  and  almost  dying  of  starvation,  he  deter- 
mined to  ask  some  assistance  (0  one  of  his  enemies  whose  house  he 
perceived  at  a  distance,  whilst  wandering  through  the  country.  He 
went,  knocked  at  the  door,  and,  as  soon  as  the  owner  appeared: 
"Behold,"  said  the  young  prince,  "the  son  of  your  lawful  sovereign, 
who  craves  a  little  bread  and  some  garments.  I  know  you  are  my 
enemy ;  but  on  your  probity  I  rely  enough  to  believe  that  you  will 
not  betray  my  confidence  in  you,  nor  take  advantage  of  my  extreme 


432  MODERN    HISTORY.  Part  Vll, 

distress."  The  gentleman,  deeply  moved  at  the  sight  of  such  mis* 
fortune  united  with  such  magnanimity,  bestowed  on  his  guest  all  the 
assistance  which  he  needed,  and  ohserved  an  inviolable  secrecy. 
In  fine,  after  five  months  of  incredible  sufferings,  Edward  embarked 
on  board  a  French  frigate,  and,  escaping  the  sight  of  the  British  ves- 
sels which  were  cruising  along  the  coast,  safely  reached  the  shores 
of  France,  whence  he  had  sailed  on  his  adventurous  expedition. 
He  afterwards  repaired  to  Rome,  where  he  died  at  the  age  of  sixty- 
eight  years  (A.  D.  1788). 


OLD    FRENCH  WAR,   OTHERWISE    CALLED  WAR    OF    HA- 
NOVER,  OR   SEVEN   YEARS   WAR.— A.  D.— 1756— 1763. 


THE  boundaries  of  the  French  and  British  possessions  in  North 
America  not  having  been  sufficiently  settled  by  the  treaties  of  Utrecht 
and  Aix-la-Chapelle,  there  soon  arose  complaints  of  mutual  encroach- 
ments. A  fresh  negotiation  was  indeed  opened  between  the  courts 
of  London  and  Versailles,  but  to  no  effect;  hostilities  followed,  and 
alter  being  carried  on  for  a  time  without  any  previous  declaration  of 
war,  at  last  came  to  an  open  rupture  in  1756. 

This  new  warfare,  which,  in  a  short  time  extended  to  all  parts  of 
the  world,  entirely  changed,  from  the  beginning,  the  political  aspect 
of  Europe.  France  and  Austria,  so  long  opposed  to  each  other,  now 
united  their  interests,  and  were  joined  by  Russia,  Sweden  nml 
Saxony.  Holland  and  Spain  kept  at  first  a  sort  of  neutrality;  >ut 
the  English,  besides  the  superiority  of  their  naval  forces,  succ 
in  securing  to  themselves  a  powerful  ally  on  the  continent,  Frederic 
II,  king  of  Prussia,  who  had  already  acquired  great  renown  for  his 
ability,  and  gained  many  laurels  in  the  preceding  conflict  of  the 
Austrian  succession. 

The  first  chances  of  war  were  favorable  to  France  in  almost  every 
place.  The  English  and  their  allies  were  defeated  in  North  America, 
on  the  Mediterranean  sea,  in  the  island  of  Minorca,  where  the  sup- 
posed impregnable  fortress  of  St.  Philip,  or  Fort  Mahon,  was  taken 
almost  at  the  first  onset;  and  particularly  in  the  north  of  Germany, 
where  forty  thousand  men  commanded  by  the  duke  of  Cumberland, 
experienced  such  reverses  as  to  be  ot^iged  at  last  to  capitulate.  Nor 
'was  Frederic  II  in  a  better  condition.  After  a  transitory  success,  he 
had  been  routed  by  the  Austrians ;  his  kingdom  was  ravaged  by  the 
Russians  and  the  Swedes,  and  a  French  army  was  marching  from 
another  quarter  to  complete  his  ruin.  In  this  extremity,  his  courage 
and  presence  of  mind  did  not  fail  him  :  he  retreated  before  the 
French,  as  if  frightened  at  their  approach,  and  took  up  at  Roshach  a 


..  D.  175&-1763.  OLD  FRENCH  WAR.  433 

formidable  position.  Here,  whilst  the  enemy  advanced  against  him 
in  the  hope  of  a  sure  and  easy  triumph,  the  tents  which  concealed 
his  army  suddenly  disappeared,  and  the  Prussians  were  seen  in  battle 
array,  between  two  hills  covered  with  artillery.  At  this  unexpected 
sight,  a  panic  seized  the  assailants,  and  they  had  scarcely  fought  a 
quarter  of  an  hour,  when  they  fled  in  every  direction.  This  brilliant 
exploit,  which  was  entirely  owing  to  the  genius  of  Frederic,  restored 
his  decaying  affairs;  it  enabled  him  to  repel  the  imperialists  from 
Silesia,  and  the  French  also  had  to  give  up  their  last  conquests. 

The  three  following  campaigns  offered  a  series  of  battles  and  a 
variety  of  events,  which  it  would  be  equally  tedious  and  useless  to 
enumerate.  The  French  now  maintained  their  ground  well  enough 
in  Germany  ;  but  on  every  part  of  the  ocean,  as  well  as  in  the  East 
and  West  Indies,  they  suffered  incredible  and  irreparable  losses. 
Hitherto,  the  Marquis  of  Montcalm  had  ably  and  successfully  de- 
fended their  Canadian  possessions;  but,  as  no  fresh  supplies  could 
be  forwarded  to  him  across  the  Atlantic,  where  the  English  every 
where  prevailed,  the  number  of  his  troops  daily  diminished,  and  it 
was  not  in  his  power  to  hinder  a  superior  force  under  general  Wolfe 
from  reaching  the  vicinity  of  Quebec.  In  order,  if  possible,  to  save 
that  capital,  he  ventured  to  give  them  battle.  The  disposition  of  the  two 
armies  was  masterly,  and  the  action  commenced  with  great  resolution 
on  both  sides.  During  the  conflict,  Wolfe  and  Montcalm,  who  had 
given  equal  proofs  of  personal  courage,  were  both  mortally  wounded; 
the  former  died  in  the  enthusiasm  of  victory,  which  he  saw  favoring 
the  English,  and  the  latter  with  the  sad  consolation  of  not  having  to 
witness  the  approaching  surrender  of  Quebec.  It  took  place  six  days 
later,  and  was  followed  in  one  year  by  the  reduction  of  all  Canada 
(A.  D.  1759—1760). 

The  same  happened  to  the  French  settlements  in  the  East  Indies; 
sooner  or  later,  all  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  English.  Nor  could 
France  put  a  stop  to  that  astonishing  series  of  disasters;  her  navy, 
which  had  severely  suffered  during  the  preceding  war,  was  now 
in  a  wretched  condition,  and  though  privateers  greatly  annoyed 
the  British  commerce,  her  weak  squadrons  were  totally  inadequate 
to  cope  with  the  imposing  forces  of  England.  The  only  subject  of 
hope  that  remained  was  the  assistance,  if  it  could  be  obtained,  of  the 
other  branches  of  the  Bourbon  family,  actually  reigning  in  Spain, 
Naples  and  Sicily.  Louis  requested  it  through  his  ministers,  and  the 
Spanish  king,  Charles  III,  generously  consented  to  help  him  with 
vessels  and  troops.  A  treaty  to  this  effect  was  framed  under  the 
name  of  family  compact;  but  it  was  of  no  advantage  to  Louis  XV, 
and  proved  most  prejudicial  t«*his  ally.  No  sooner  were  the  English 
apprized  of  the  transaction,  than  they  directed  their  efforts  against 


434  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Part  VIL 


the  Spanish  settlements  in  Asia  and  America,  destroyed  their  com- 
merce, and  made  immense  captures. 

All  the  resources  of  France  were  now  exhausted ;  one  year  had 
been  sufficient  to  baffle  the  auxiliary  measures  of  Spain  ;  but  England 
herself  was  much  depressed  by  the  amazing  efforts  she  had  made, 
to  obtain  the  superiority  over  all  her  enemies.  This  weariness  of 
the  chief  belligerent  powers  .made  all  parties  desirous  of  peace  (x.  D. 
1763).  Whilst  it  was  concluded  at  Hubersburg  between  the  Prus- 
sian monarch  and  his  numerous  adversaries;  the  British,  French  and 
Spanish  courts  signed  the  treaty  of  Paris,  by  which  it  was  agreed 
that  England,  upon  restoring  a  few  of  her  conquests,  should  retain 
the  whole  of  Canada,  and  many  other  valuable  possessions.  Thus 
did  that  mighty  nation  secure  her  maritime  and  commercial  prepon- 
derance; though  the  time  was  not  far  distant,  when  she  was  to  be 
deprived,  by  an  unexpected  revolution,  of  her  own  colonies  in  North 
America. 


ORIGIN  AND  PROGRESS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION. 
A.  D.  1764—1776. 


THE  great  accession  of  power  and  territory  just  acquired  by  Great 
Britain,  had  not  been  gained  without  enormous  expenses,  increased 
taxation,  and  a  rapidly  accumulating  debt.  No  sooner  were  hostilities 
at  an  end,  than  the  English  ministry  made  it  their  chief  object  to  find 
out  new  sources  of  revenue,  and  devise  means  for  replenishing  the 
treasury.  North  America  opened  to  their  view,  so  they  at  least  flat- 
tered themselves,  a  new  and  abundant  field  for  levying  taxes;  and,  on 
motion  of  Lord  Grenville,  first  commissioner  of  the  treasury,  the  fa- 
mous act  for  imposing  stamp  duties  on  the  colonies  was  passed,  in 
1765,  by  both  houses  of  the  British  parliament. 

This  act  excited  serious  alarm  among  the  Americans.  Without 
altogether  contesting  the  power  vested  in  parliament,  to  make  regula- 
tions for  trade,  they  sternly  denied  its  right  to  impose  direct  revenue 
taxes  on  them  without  their  own  consent.  Petitions  and  remon- 
strances drawn  up  in  energetic  language,  were  instantly  despatched 
to  the  government;  nor  were  there  wanting  in  England  itself  men 
of  remarkable  talent  and  eloquence,  as  the  celebrated  William  Pitt, 
earl  of  Chatham,  who  strenuously  maintained  the  privileges  of  the 
Colonies.  All  these  protests,  supported  by  the  measures  which  the 
Americans  took  to  prevent  the  exaction  of  the  stamp  duties,  suc- 
ceeded, on  the  accession  of  a  new  British  ministry,  in  procuring  the 
revocation  of  the  obnoxious  act  (A.  r>.  1766). 


A.  D.  1754—1776. 


AMERICAN  REVOLUTION.  435 


The  rejoicings  which  that  repeal  produced  in  America,  were  great 
and  sincere,  but  still  much  diminished  by  a  certain  decree  the  parlia- 
ment issued  at  the  same  time,  asserting  its  power  to  bind  the  Colo- 
nies in  all  cases  whatsoever.  A  variety  of  particular  restrictions  fos- 
tered the  spirit  of  dread  and  mistrust  in  American  hearts,  and  subse- 
quent events  revived  all  former  irritation.  The  scheme  of  raising  a 
revenue  in  the  colonies  was  again  practically  adopted,  by  imposing 
duties  on  tea,  glass,  paper  and  painters'  colors  imported  from  Great 
Britain.  The  colonists  opposed  these  proceedings,  which  they  con- 
sidered as  subversive  of  their  rights  and  liberties,  by  a  fresh  series  of 
petitions,  remonstrances  and  protests,  and  chiefly  by  non-importation 
agreements :  nor  did  their  resentment  stop  there;  an  immense  quan- 
tity of  tea,  which  had  been  shipped  for  Massachusetts,  not  only  was 
not  suffered  to  land,  but  was  even  thrown  into  the  bay  by  the  Bos- 
tonians. 

This  bold  measure  formed  a  new  and  momentous  crisis  in  the  re- 
lations between  America  and  Great  Britain.  While  in  England  bills 
were  passed,  coercive  expedients  adopted,  and  powerful  reinforce- 
ments of  vessels  and  troops  despatched  against  Boston,  the  American 
States  were  not  slow  in  espousing  the  cause  of  their  sister  Colony, 
in  organizing  a  militia,  and  procuring,  by  every  means  in  their 
power,  arms,  ammunition  and  all  necessary  supplies  for  the  defence 
of  their  claims.  Still,  it  was  again  the  lot  of  the  new  Englanders  to 
begin  the  conflict.  A  party  of  men  having  been  sent  by  General 
Gage,  from  Boston,  to  destroy  some  military  stores  collected  at  Con- 
cord by  the  provincials,  were,  on  their  way  back,  attacked  near  Lex- 
ington, and  lost  two  hundred  and  seventy-three  of  their  number, 
whereas  the  loss  of  their  opponents  was  only  ninety-three.  This  was 
the  first  blood  spilled  in  battle  during  the  American  revolution. 

Two  months  later  (June  1775),  a  still  more  memorable  action  took 
place  at  Bunker  Hill,  or  rather  Breed's  Hill,  near  Boston,  between 
fifteen  hundred  New  Englanders,  and  three  thousand  British  regu- 
lars. The  coolness  of  the  provincials  at  the  approach  of  a  veteran 
force  double  their  number,  was  astonishing,  and  the  order  of  General 
Putnam  not  to  fire  till  they  could  distinguish  the  whites  of  the  ene- 
my's eyes,  was  scrupulously  obeyed.  The  regulars  were  permitted 
to  advance  to  within  about  sixty  yards,  when  a  deadly  fire  of  small 
arms  was  opened  upon  them  with  such  effect,  that  whole  ranks  were 
mowed  down,  and  the  line,  wavering  for  a  moment,  at  last  broke, 
and  gave  way.  They  rallied,  advanced  again,  and  were  again  re- 
pulsed by  the  same  destructive  and  incessant  fire.  A  third  charge, 
led  on  by  General  Clinton,  proved  more  successful,  and  the  provin- 
cials, who  had  nearly  exhausted  their  ammunition,  were  obliged  to  re- 
tire; but,  although  they  left  the  field  of  battle,  they  could  justly  claim. 


436  MODERN   HISTORY.  Part  VIL 

the  advantage  of  victory,  their  loss  being  only  four  hundred  and  fifty- 
three,  that  of  the  British,  one  thousand  and  fifty-four. 

The  spirit  displayed  by  the  Americans  in  these  engagements 
greatly  increased  their  confidence,  and  urged  them  to  new  exertions. 
In  the  mean  time,  a  general  Congress  of  the  Colonies,  represented  by 
their  deputies,  had  met  in  Philadelphia  for  the  purpose  of  adopting 
measures  adequate  to  the  important  crisis.  They  voted  to  raise  an 
army  of  twenty  thousand  men,  appointed  the  general  officers,  and, 
on  motion  of  Mr.  Johnson  of  Maryland,  unanimously  chose  GEORGE 
WASHINGTON  commander-in-chief  of  the  American  forces.  The 
great  man  who  thus  already  possessed  the  universal  confidence  and 
esteem  of  his  countrymen,  accepted  the  appointment  with  unfeigned 
modesty,  and  immediately  took  command  of  the  army  in  the  vicinity 
of  Boston.  Before  his  arrival,  the  scheme  of  surrounding  the  royal 
forces  in  that  city  had  already  been  contrived,  and  was  about  to  be 
put  in  execution  ;  Washington  pursued  it  with  such  ardor  and  suc- 
cess, as  to  leave  them  no  resource  but  immediate  departure  on  board 
their  vessels  hitherto  anchored  in  the  harbor.  Accordingly,  on  the 
seventeenth  of  March  (A.  D.  1776),  the  British  troops,  amounting  to 
more  than  seven  thousand  men,  evacuated  the  town,  which  was 
immediately  occupied  by  the  triumphant  provincials. 

Shortly  after  this,  the  English  having  endeavored,  first  to  surprise 
New  York,  and  then  to  reduce  Charleston  by  a  vigorous  attack, 
were  foiled  in  both  attempts.  The  Americans,  it  is  true,  were  not 
more  fortunate  in  their  own  attempt  upon  Canada,  and  rather  suf- 
fered a  considerable  loss,  in  the  siege  of  Quebec,  which  cost  the  life 
of  General  Montgomery,  and  reduced  Colonel  Arnold  to  the  neces- 
sity of  retreating;  but  this  unhappy  expedition  went  at  least  to 
show  the  ardor  of  the  colonists  even  for  offensive  warfare,  whilst 
all  their  energies  were  required  to  defend  themselves  against  a  pow- 
erful enemy. 

All  these  actions  however  they  had  performed  without  renouncing 
their  allegiance  to  the  British  crown.  There  was  indeed  in  the  Colo- 
nies a  spirit  of  open  and  unflinching  resistance  to  what  they  unani- 
mously deemed  an  invasion  of  their  privileges;  but  the  people  and 
their  representatives  had,  until  the  close  of  the  year  1775,  entertained 
the  hope  and  expressed  the  desire  of  bringing  their  controversy  with. 
Great  Britain  to  a  speeedy  and  amicable  conclusion.  Unfortunately 
for  England,  her  existing  ministry  had  determined  to  maintain  by 
force  the  right  of  taxation  and  the  legislative  supremacy  of  parlia- 
ment over  the  Colonies;  and  the  Colonies  were  equally  determined 
to  repel  the  claim  by  force. 

The  exasperation  of  the  people  in  America  rose  to  the  highest 
pitch,  when  they  were  informed  that  measures  for  fresh  hostilities 


A.  D.  1776-17831         WAR  OF  INDEPENDENCE.  437 

had  been  taken  by  Great  Britain  against  them,  so  far  as  to  hire  mul- 
titudes of  foreign  troops  for  a  more  vigorous  prosecution  01  the  war. 
The  public  mind,  under  the  constant  excitement  of  sufferings  or  fears, 
began  to  think  of  adopting  a  course  different  from  that  hitherto  pur-- 
sued. The  winter  and  spring  of  1776  were  spent  in  discussions, 
appeals  and  publications  of  every  sort,  urging  the  expediency  of  a 
total  separation  from  the  mother  country.  The  momentous  step  was 
taken  into  serious  consideration  by  Congress,  then  assembled  at  Phi- 
ladelphia and  consisting  of  the  representatives  of  thirteen  Colonies, 
viz.  Massachusetts  including  Maine,  New  Hampshire,  Connecticut, 
Rhode  Island,  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Delaware, 
Maryland,  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  and  Georgia. 
After  long  and  animated  debates,  a  Declaration  of  Independence, 
drawn  up  by  Thomas  Jefferson,  was  unanimously  approved  on  the 
Fourth  of  July,  a  day  for  ever  memorable  in  the  annals  of  America, 
and  then  solemnly  proclaimed  to  the  people.  In  this  important  instru- 
ment, the  members  of  Congress,  in  the  name  of  their  constituents, 
after  enumerating  their  grievances  and  subjects  of  complaint  against 
the  British  government,  renounced  all  allegiance  to  it,  dissolved  all 
political  connexion  with  England,  and  declared  the  United  Colonies 
to  be  free,  independent  and  sovereign  states ;  at  the  same  time,  mutu- 
ally pledging  to  each  other,  for  the  support  of  this  declaration,  "  their 
lives,  their  fortunes,  and  their  sacred  honor." 


WAR  OF  INDEPENDENCE.— A.  D.  1776—1783. 

THE  declaration  of  independence  was  certainly  a  point  of  very 
high  importance  for  the  people  of  the  United  Colonies,  but  to  render 
it  an  efficient  and  irrevocable  measure,  it  required  all  their  energies  in 
the  open  field ;  the  more  so,  as  the  prospect  of  their  affairs  at  that 
epoch  was  by  no  means  encouraging.  The  British  were  ready  to 
prosecute  the  war  vigorously  by  land  and  sea.  Their  army  consisted 
of  twenty-four  thousand  of  the  best  troops  from  Europe,  to  whom 
several  regiments  of  Hessian  infantry  were  expected  soon  to  be  added, 
carrying  their  number  to  the  amount  of  thirty-five  thousand  men, 
under  the  command  of  very  able  generals  and  experienced  officers, 
and  well  supplied  with  every  thing  necessary  for  an  active  and  suc- 
cessful warfare. 

To  resist  the  attack,  and  check,  if  possible,  the  progress  of  these 
combined  forces,  the  American  general  had  under  his  command 
troops  not  only  far  inferior  in  numbers,  but  still  more  so  in  military 
discipline,,  and,  owing  chiefly  to  the  pecuniary  embarrassments  of  the 
country  ill-provided  with  food,  clothing,  arms  and  ammunition.  It 
37* 


438  MODERN    HISTORY.  Tart  VII. 

required  his  utmost  sagacity  and  indefatigable  efforts  to  train  them  to 
habits  of  necessary  subordination  and  to  a  regular  manner  of  fighting, 
and  particularly  to  retain  them  in  sufficient  force  under  his  banners, 
at  a  time  when  the  ill-advised  practice  of  short  enlistments  easily  per- 
mitted them  to  withdraw  from  the  service.  Yet,  under  these  trying 
circumstances,  never  did  the  great  mind  of  Washington,  even  after 
many  a  defeat  which  neither  his  courage  nor  skill  could  prevent, 
abandon  the  hope  of  ultimate  success.  Never  did  Congress,  even 
when  surrounded  by  obstacles,  and  seeing  the  cause  of  independence 
on  the  brink  of  ruin,  listen  to  any  proposal  of  peace,  except  on  the 
condition  of  an  acknowledgment  from  England  of  the  freedom  of  the 
Colonies.  Like  the  Romans  of  old,  who  showed  their  contempt  of 
the  victorious  host  of  Annibal,  by  selling  at  a  high  price  the  field  on 
which  it  was  encamped  near  their  city,  so  the  leading  American 
patriots,  far  from  suffering  themselves  to  be  dejected  by  the  gloomy 
state  of  their  affairs,  constantly  expressed  their  determination  to  carry 
on  the  struggle  at  all  hazards,  rather  than  ever  return  under  British 
subjection. 

These  lofty  hopes  and  resolutions  of  Congress,  in  which  a  large 
majority  of  the  people  always  concurred,  were  sustained  not  only  by 
the  consciousness  of  their  own  energies,  but  also  by  a  well  founded 
expectation  of  foreign  alliance  and  succors.  In  fact,  almost  from  the 
beginning  of  the  war,  the  Colonies  successfully  applied  to  various 
places  abroad  to  secure  supplies  of  arms  and  ammunition ;  and, 
though  no  foreign  state  had  yet  acknowledged  their  independence, 
such  a  number  of  able  officers  came  over  to  them  from  Poland  and 
France,  as  greatly  added  to  the  skill  and  strength  of  their  armies.  In 

1778,  the  successful  exertions  of  the  commissioners  of  Congress,  and 
particularly  of  the  celebrated  doctor  Franklin,  induced  the  French 
government  openly  to  declare  in  favor  of  the  Americans.     Public 
hostilities  commenced  from  that  moment  between  France  and  Great 
Britain,  and  the  contest  became  still  more  animated,  when  Spain  in 

1779,  and  Holland  in  1780,  joined  in  the  war  against  England ;  whilst 
the  league,  called  the  ai*med  neutrality,  was  also  formed  against  her 
interests,  by  the  northern  powers  of  Russia,  Sweden  and  Denmark. 

To  oppose  this  formidable  array  of  enemies,  the  English  nation, 
roused  by  danger  to  exertions  worthy  of  her  opulence  and  greatness, 
displayed  a  spirit  truly  magnanimous,  and  astonishing  resources 
Her  fleets  covered  both  hemispheres,  and  her  armies  every  where 
fought  with  a  valor  which  challenges  unqualified  admiration.  Still, 
it  was  easy  to  foresee,  that,  since  the  English  were  obliged  to  divide 
their  forces,  however  successful  they  might  be  in  various  particular 
engagements,  they  would  in  the  end  lose  the  main  point  at  issue,  i!ie 
recovery  of  their  Colonies.  It  is  true,  the  allied  European  powers 


A.  o.  I77G-1783.       WAR  OF  INDEPENDENCE.  439 

did  not,  at  least  in  the  beginning,  lend  to  the  Colonies  so  direct  and 
efficient  a  cooperation  as  might  have  been  anticipated;  yet,  it  is  self- 
evident  that,  occupying  the  immense  navies  of  Great  Britain,  as  well 
in  the  East  and  West  Indies,  as  along  the  shores  of  Europe  and 
Africa,  they  afforded,  by  thus  preventing  her  from  concentrating  her 
energies,  an  immense  advantage  to  the  American  cause.  The  suc- 
cessful result  of  the  war  of  independence  was,  therefore,  to  be  pro- 
duced, and  in  fact  was  achieved  in  America  itself,  through  a  long 
series  of  hardships  and  battles,  of  disasters  and  victories.  This  natu- 
rally leads  us  to  resume  the  course  of  military  events,  and  relate  in 
the  order  of  time,  those  which  immediately  followed  the  declaration 
oi  independence. 

Two  months  had  not  elapsed  since  that  remarkable  event,  when 
the  Colonies  saw  with  dismay  their  troops  signally  defeated  in  the 
disastrous  battle  of  Long  Island,  Washington,  unable  to  cope  with 
the  superior  forces  of  the  English  and  Hessians,  was  obliged  to 
evacuate  not  only  this  island,  but  even,  a  few  days  after,  the  city  of 
New  York;  nor  was  this  the  end  of  the  misfortune.  At  the  approach 
of  a  victorious  enemy,  it  became  necessary  and  urgent  to  abandon 
the  province  of  New  Jersey,  and  cross  with  all  speed  the  river  Dela- 
ware. It  was  truly  a  dispiriting  scene  to  behold  that  scanty,  desti- 
tute and  diminishing  band,  scarcely  amounting  to  three  thousand, 
pursued  by  a  triumphant,  well  disciplined  and  abundantly  supplied 
army  of  thirty  thousand  men.  About  the  same  time,  an  American 
flotilla  on  Lake  Champlain  was  entirely  destroyed,  and  the  State  of 
Rhode  Island  conquered  by  the  British. 

Of  all  the  periods  of  the  revolution,  this  was  the  most  gloomy  and 
disheartening.  It  is  true,  so  hopeless  a  state  of  things  did  not  last 
long,  and  Washington  having  received  reinforcements  which  made 
his  army  amount  to  about  seven  thousand,  was  enabled  to  raise  the 
drooping  spirits  of  his  countrymen  by  a  bold  and  successful  attempt. 
Observing  the  scattered  and  loosely  guarded  positions  of  the  enemy 
along  the  left  bank  of  the  Delaware,  he  recrossed  that  river  on  Christ- 
mas-day, suddenly  attacked  the  Hessian  troops  at  Trenton,  and  cap- 
tured about  nine  hundred  men  and  officers,  with  the  whole  artillery 
and  ammunition.  Ten  days  later,  he  again  defeated  three  regiments 
at  Princeton,  and  pursuing  his  advantage,  made  such  skilful  ma- 
noeuvres as  to  wrest  from  the  enemy  almost  all  their  conquests  in  the 
Jerseys,  and  to  gain  for  himself  among  tacticians  in  Europe  the  sur- 
name of  the  American  Fabius.  At  the  reopening  of  the  campaign  in 
1777,  he  was  again  obliged  to  retreat  before  the  overwhelming  force 
of  the  British,  and  even,  in  consequence  of  the  unfavorable  actions 
of  Brandywine  and  Germantown,  to  leave  Philadelphia  for  a  lime  in 
the  power  of  the  enemy ;  yet,  he  so  well  conducted  his  army,  so  ju- 


440  MODERN    HISTORY.  Part  VII. 

diciously  chose  the  positions  for  his  encampments,  that  the  conque- 
rors were  unable  to  derive  any  material  advantage  from  their  progress 
and  victories. 

It  was  during  the  course  of  these  expeditions  of  the  commander-in- 
chief,  that  the  memorable  attack  of  Stony  Point  took  place.  The 
British  having  fortified  this  post  and  manned  it  with  a  strong  garri- 
son, Washington,  whose  camp  was  not  far  distant,  determined  to 
dislodge  them,  and  despatched  for  that  purpose  General  Wayne  with 
a  detachment  of  infantry.  Wayne  arrived  near  the  fort  in  the  even- 
ing, and,  dividing  his  men  into  two  columns,  directed  them  to  assault 
it  at  opposite  points,  and,  without  firing,  to  depend  entirely  upon  the 
bayonet.  The  attempt,  though  extremely  bold  and  hazardous,  was 
executed  with  incredible  courage.  The  assailants  forced  their  way 
across  a  morass  covered  by  the  tide,  and,  though  exposed  to  a  galling 
fire  of  musketry  and  grape  shot,  they  fearlessly  went  on,  till  they  met 
in  the  middle  of  the  fortress.  They  lost,  it  is  true,  ninety-eight  men 
slain  or  wounded,  and  the  general  himself  received  a  severe  wound, 
whilst  leading  his  column:  still,  their  success  was  complete;  five 
hundred  and  forty-three  prisoners,  fifteen  pieces  of  cannon,  the  stan- 
dards, and  a  large  amount  of  military  stores,  fell  into  the  hands  of 
the  conquerors.  This  action  was  considered  one  of  the  most  brilliant 
achievements  of  the  war;  it  merited  high  encomiums  for  Wayne  and 
his  troops,  and  Congress  ordered  a  gold  medal  to  be  struck  in  honor 
of  the  victory. 

Not  long  before  this  event,  and  towards  the  close  of  the  year  1777, 
the  previous  losses  of  the  Americans  in  the  north  were  most  advan- 
tageously repaired.  General  Burgoyne  had  undertaken  to  effect  a 
junction  of  the  British  troops  from  Canada  with  those  stationed  at 
New  York,  for  the  purpose  of  cutting  off  all  communication  between 
the  northern  and  southern  States.  His  march  from  Quebec  and 
upon  the  American  territory  was  at  first  successful  and  rapid,  though 
it  cost  him  much  labor  to  make  the  roads  passable.  The  fierce  baf.- 
tles  of  Bennington  and  Stillwater  checked  this  triumphant  course, 
and  he  was  still  far  from  having  accomplished  his  project,  when  de- 
sertions and  scarcity  of  provisions  increased  his  embarrassment.  A 
speedy  retreat  towards  the  north  might  perhaps  have  delivered  him 
from  his  perilous  position;  but  this  last  resource  was  also  rendered 
impossible  by  the  skilful  efforts  of  General  Gates  to  surround  him. 
Burgoyne,  thus  deprived  of  all  means  of  escape,  opened  at  Saratoga 
a  negotiation  with  the  American  general,  and  on  the  seventeenth  of 
October  surrendered  the  remnant  of  his  troops,  now  reduced  from 
twelve  to  six  thousand,  with  the  whole  train  of  artillery  and  an  im- 
mense quantity  of  military  stores. 

The  capture  of  Burgoyne's  army  was,  especially  in  a  moral  pomi 


A.  D.  1776-1783.      WAR    OF    INDEPENDENCE.  441 

of  view  and  as  an  encouragement,  of  vital  importance  to  the  Ameri- 
cans. Still,  much  remained  to  be  done  and  suffered,  before  the  war 
could  be  brought  to  a  close.  The  chief  theatre  of  hostilities  was  now 
transferred,  as  it  were  by  common  consent  of  the  hostile  parties,  from 
the  northern  to  the  southern  States.  Here  the  cause  of  liberty  seemed 
totally  lost  for  a  long  time.  The  capture  of  Savannah,  and  the  sub- 
sequent conquest  of  Georgia  by  the  British  in  1779;  afterwards,  their 
success  in  subduing  Charleston  and  South  Carolina,  with  a  conside- 
rable loss  of  men  and  artillery  on  the  part  of  the  Americans,  in  1780; 
finally,  the  signal  defeat  of  General  Gates  by  Lord  Cornwallis  at 
Camden,  opening  a  free  road  to  the  invasion  of  North  Carolina  and 
Virginia:  such  was,  in  the  beginning  of  1781,  the  discouraging  and 
almost  desperate  situation  of  affairs  throughout  that  extensive  part 
of  the  American  territory.  In  this  extremity,  the  command  of  the 
republican  forces  just  happened  to  devolve  on  two  men  endowed  with 
that  courage,  activity  and  perseverance  which  the  emergency  re- 
quired ;  men  of  peculiar  and  fertile  genius,  who  stimulated  the  spirits 
of  the  patriots,  roused  them  to  fresh  exertions,  and,  by  a  series  of 
gallant  actions,  not  only  checked  the  victorious  career  of  the  enemy, 
but  even  prepared  the  way  for  the  final  triumph  of  American  Inde- 
pendence. 

The  first  of  these  prominent  personages  was  General  Greene,  justly 
surnamed,  for  his  brilliant  achievements,  the  liberator  of  the  South. 
Being  appointed  to  succeed  Gates  after  the  defeat  of  Camden,  he 
entered  the  state  of  South  Carolina  with  a  dispirited  and  almost 
destitute  army,  and  found  the  country  in  the  possession  of  a  mighty 
foe,  intrenched  in  a  long  chain  of  well  garrisoned  and  fortified 
posts.  He  successively  broke  through  and  captured  them,  and 
although  several  times  defeated  in  the  open  field,  he  found  so  many 
resources  in  the  energy  of  his  character  and  the  fertility  of  his  genius, 
that  he  was  always  formidable ;  nor  did  he  cease  to  harass  his  oppo- 
nents, until  he  had  driven  them  from  their  different  posts  throughout 
the  State  into  the  fortifications  of  the  capital.  The  victory  of  General 
Morgan  at  Cowpens  opened,  and  the  battle  of  Eutaw  Springs  won 
by  Greene  in  person,  closed  this  decisive  campaign.* 

Nearly  the  same  success  was  obtained  in  Virginia  by  Lafayette, 
who,  with  only  three  or  four  thousand  men,  many  of  whom  were 

*  As  well  in  this  as  in  other  periods  and  theatres  of  the  war,  the  officers 
and  soldiers  of  the  Maryland  regiment  highly  distinguished  themselves  by 
their  intrepid  and  gallant  behavior.  None  fought  more  resolutely  in  the 
disastrous  battles  of  Long  Island  and  Camden ;  and,  could  victory  have  been 
won,  their  courage  would  have  achieved  it  on  both  occasions.  See  Mar- 
shall, Life  of  Washington,  vol.  i,  pp.  346—347; — Wilson,  History  of  the 
American  Revolution,  pp.  160  and  306 ;— Frost,  History  of  the  United  States, 
pp.  200  and  271. 


442  MODERN    HISTORY.  Part  VH. 

new  levies,  had  to  defend  the  country  against  the  superior  numbers 
and  the  victorious  veterans  of  Lord  Cornwallis  now  advancing,  with 
full  confidence,  to  the  conquest  of  this  important  State.  The  French 
general,  well  taught  in  the  school  of  Washington,  so  tempered  his 
characteristic  ardor  with  reflection  and  wariness,  manoeuvred  with  so 
much  prudence  and  skill,  as  to  baffle  the  mighty  efforts  and  frustrate 
the  lofty  designs  of  his  opponent.  Cornwallis,  thus  constantly  disap- 
pointed, retired  towards  the  coast  with  all  his  troops,  and  at  length 
took  a  strong  position  at  Yorktown  and  Gloucester  Point,  near  the 
mouth  of  York  river.  Here  the  protracted  struggle  was  to  be  finally 
decided. 

No  sooner  did  Washington,  who  was  now  actively  occupied  in  the 
vicinity  of  New  York,  receive  an  exact  account  of  the  state  of  things 
in  Virginia,  and  of  the  destination  of  a  powerful  French  armament 
for  the  Chesapeake,  than  he  resolved  to  turn  these  advantages  to  the 
best  account,  by  capturing  the  whole  army  of  Cornwallis.  This  re- 
quired profound  secrecy,  a  skilful  combination  of  means  and  a  mighty 
concentration  of  forces  near  Yorktown ;  but  the  mind  of  the  com- 
mander-in-chief  was  not  unequal  to  the  planning  of  all  the  parts  of 
that  complicated  scheme,  or  to  its  successful  execution.  His  first 
care  was  to  conceal  his  real  object  from  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  who 
commanded  the  British  army  in  New  York  ;  and  this  was  easily  done 
by  threatening  a  serious  attack  on  that  city.  He  then,  with  the  French 
general  Rochambeau,  marched  rapidly  through  New  Jersey  and  Penn- 
sylvania, and  crossing  the  Chesapeake  on  board  of  vessels  prepared 
for  the  occasion,  effected  the  reunion  of  his  army  with  that  com- 
manded by  Lafayette  on  the  Virginia  side.  The  combined  host 
amounted  to  nearly  seventeen  thousand  men,  twelve  or  thirteen  thou- 
sand of  whom  were  regulars,  filled  with  confidence,  ardor,  enthusiasm, 
and  provided  with  all  the  materials  necessary  for  a  siege.  Moreover, 
the  French  fleet,  composed  of  about  thirty  ships  of  the  line  under  the 
command  of  Count  de  Grasse,  lay  anchored  at  the  mouth  of  York 
river  and  the  entrance  of  the  Chesapeake,  so  as  to  render  the  escape 
of  Cornwallis  impossible  by  sea,  as  his  retreat  was  impracticable  by 
land,  in  presence  of  the  superior  forces  of  the  allies. 

After  a  council  of  war  held  on  board  the  ship  La  Ville  de  Paris, 
the  attack  on  the  British  was  commenced  from  the  land  side,  in  the 
beginning  of  October,  of  the  year  1781.  On  the  tenth  of  the  same 
month,  the  besiegers  opened  their  batteries  with  such  effect,  that  the 
enemy's  cannon  was  silenced  for  a  time,  and  the  shells  and  red-hot 
balls,  flying  over  the  town,  even  reached  the  ships  in  the  harbor.  It 
was  in  vain  that  Cornwallis  endeavored  to  retard  the  progress  of  the 
assailants  by  a  vigorous  sally,  and  shortly  after  to  effect  his  escape  by 
Gloucester  Point  during  the  night ;  both  attempts  failed,  and  no  re- 


A.  D.  1776-1783.      WAR    OF    INDEPENDENCE.  443 

source  was  left  but  unconditional  and  immediate  surrender,  which 
•was  made  on  the  nineteenth  of  October:  the  whole  British  army, 
amounting  to  seven  thousand  men,  yielded  themselves  as  prisoners  of 
war,  and  delivered  to  the  victorious  allies  their  artillery,  military 
chests,  public  stores,  and  the  vessels  in  the  harbor. 

The  victory  of  Yorktown,  which  was  soon  followed  by  the  re- 
covery of  Savannah  and  Charleston,  may  be  justly  considered  as 
the  virtual  termination  of  the  War  of  Independence.  Hostilities,  it 
is  true,  were"  still  carried  on  between  the  European  powers  with 
fierce  animosity  and  unabated  vigor;  but  the  signal  defeat  of  the 
French  by  Admiral  Rodney  in  the  West  Indies,  and  the  total  failure 
of  the  Spaniards  at  the  siege  of  Gibraltar  (A.  D.  1782),  counterbal- 
ancing the  partial  success  previously  obtained  by  the  two  nations, 
taught  them  to  put  an  end  to  the  contest.  England  too,  notwith- 
standing her  late  triumphs,  had  no  interest  to  continue  it,  since  she 
had  now  lost  all  rational  expectation  of  ever  recovering  her  colonies. 
A  negotiation  was  accordingly  opened,  and  commissioners  from  the 
interested  parties  assembled  at  Paris  (or  rather  Versailles),  to  settle 
the  terms  of  a  general  peace.  After  long  and  animated  debates, 
the  definitive  treaty  was  finally  signed  in  September  (A.  D.  1783),  by 
which,  besides  various  advantages  of  minor  importance  granted  to 
France  and  Spain,  the  Independence  of  the  United  States  was  so- 
lemnly and  universally  acknowledged. 

On  the  twenty-fifth  of  November  following,  the  British  army  and 
fleet  evacuated  New  York,  their  last  remaining  possession  on  the 
territory  of  the  United  States.  General  Washington  entered  the 
city  in  triumph,  and,  after  a  short  stay,  took  an  affecting  leave  of 
his  officers,  and  set  out  for  the  purpose  of  resigning  his  office  of 
commander-in-chief  into  the  hands  of  Congress,  then  in  session  at 
Annapolis  in  Maryland.  Here,  on  the  twenty-third  of  December, 
"  In  the  presence  of  the  representatives  of  the  States,  and  a  large 
concourse  of  civil  and  military  officers,  foreign  agents,  and  citizens, 
he  delivered  his  commission  with  a  simple  and  moving  address,  in 
which,  after  congratulating  the  country  on  the  successful  termination 
of  the  war,  and  recommending  the  officers  and  the  army  to  the  jus- 
tice of  Congress,  he  concluded  by  bidding  them  an  affectionate  fare- 
well. The  highest  testimony  of  popular  love  and  admiration  fol- 
lowed him  into  his  retirement;  and  his  return  to  the  domestic  shades 
of  Mount  Vernon,  accompanied  by  the  blessings  and  plaudits  of  mil- 
lions whom  he  had  guided  to  liberty  and  safety,  was  the  closing 
scene  of  the  war  of  the  American  Revolution"  (Wilson,  p.  372). 

With  this  interesting  event  we  shall  also  close  the  seventh  part  of 
Modern  History.  As  there  is  no  peculiar  remark  to  be  made  on  the 
discoveries  of  this  period,  their  bare  enumeration  will  find  a  more 
proper  place  at  the  end  of  the  volume. 


PART  VIII. 


FROM  THE  TREATY  OF  VERSAILLES,  OR  PARIS,  IN  WHICH  THE  INDE- 
PENDENCE  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  WAS  SOLEMNLY  AND  UNIVER- 
SALLY ACKNOWLEDGED  (A.  D.  1783),  TO  THE  YEAR  OP  OUR  LORD, 
1850. 


FORMATION  OF  THE  FEDERAL  CONSTITUTION  OF  THE 
UNITED  STATES.— A.  D.  1783—1789. 


WASHINGTON,  FIRST  PRESIDENT. 

IT  was  not  enough  for  the  happiness  of  the  United  Colonies  to 
have  become  free,  independent  and  sovereign  States,-  a  mode  of 
general  government  was  moreover  to  be  established  among  them- 
calculated  at  once  to  maintain  their  union,  provide  for  their  defence 
and  ensure  their  prosperity.  Experience  had  already  laught,  and 
for  some  years  more  continued  to  teach,  that  the  existing  loose  con- 
federation which  they  had  adopted  during  the  war,  could  by  no 
means  effect  these  purposes.  The  great  difficulties  which  occurred 
in  disbanding  the  troops  and  satisfying  their  just  demands,  the  want 
of  pecuniary  resources  in  Congress,  the  absence  of  a  proper  system 
and  of  uniform  rules  to  carry  on  foreign  commerce,  and  other  simi- 
lar circumstances,  were  serious  evils,  threatening  still  worse  conse- 
quences for  the  future,  unless  checked  by  a  speedy  and  powerful 
remedy. 

Virginia  and  Maryland  had  the  honor  of  taking  the  first  efficient 
steps  towards  the  desired  and  so  much  needed  measure.  Their  en- 
deavors, upheld  by  the  cooperation  of  several  other  States,  induced 
Congress  to  pass  a  resolution  that  a  committee  of  delegates,  invested 
with  ample  powers,  should  assemble  for  the  purpose  of  framing  a 
Constitution  adapted  to  the  exigencies  of  the  country.  The  proposed 
committee,  composed  of  the  ablest  men  in  the  Union,  met  at  Phila- 
delphia, in  1787,  under  the  presidency  of  General  Washington : 
after  four  months  of  discussion  and  labor,  the  important  work  was 
completed,  and  transmitted  by  Congress  to  the  several'States  for  their 
consideration  and  acceptance. 


A.  D.  1783-1789.    FEDERAL  CONSTITUTION,  ETC.  445 

By  the  Federal  Constitution,  the  general  government  is  made  to 
consist  of  three  distinct  departments,  the  legislative,  executive  and 
judicial.  The  legislative  department  consists  of  a  Senate  and  House 
of  Representatives,  collectively  called  the  Congress.  The  executive  is 
composed  of  a  president,  who,  together  with  the  vice-president,  is 
chosen  for  four  years  by  electors  from  all  the  States,  and  of  several 
Subordinate  officers  appointed  by  the  president.  In  fine,  the  judicial 
power  is  vested  in  a  supreme  court,  and  in  such  inferior  courts  as 
Congress  may  from  time  to  time  ordain  and  establish.  The  attribu- 
tions of  each  power  are  defined  and  regulated;  the  principal  article 
is  that  which  authorizes  Congress  to  declare  war,  raise  and  support 
armies,  provide  and  maintain  a  navy,  coin  money,  lay  taxes,  regulate 
commerce,  and  provide  in  general  for  the  government,  welfare  and 
security  of  the  nation. 

No  sooner  was  the  Constitution  made  known  to  the  public,  than 
it  met  with  earnest  opposition  from  those  who  thought  that  it  vested 
too  much  power  in  the  general  government,  to  the  detriment  of  the 
individual  States.  It  was  also  very  strongly  supported  by  others; 
and  hence  arose  the  two  opposite  parties  of  the  federalists  and 
anti-federalists  or  democrats,  which  have  divided  the  country  ever 
since. 

Notwithstanding  this  contrariety  and  clashing  of  views,  the  Fede 
ral  Constitution  was,  after  some  amendments,  sooner  or  later  ad- 
mitted by  all  the  States.  The  time  being  near  at  hand,  when  the 
newly  framed  government  was  to  be  carried  into  operation,  Washing- 
ton was  unanimously  chosen  president;  he  was  inaugurated  on  the 
thirtieth  of  April  (A.  D.  1789),  and,  being  reelected  after  the  lapse 
of  four  years,  continued  in  office  until  1797.  His  public  conduct  all 
that  time,  was  marked  by  the  same  firmness  and  integrity  which  he 
had  displayed  at  the  head  of  armies.  Although  some  of  the  mea- 
sures which  he  pursued  did  not  meet  with  universal  approbation,  he 
however  never  lost  the  esteem  and  affection  of  the  great  body  of 
the  people,  the  general  advantages  of  his  administration  being  too 
evident  and  the  purity  of  his  motives  too  well  known,  to  permit 
any  change  of  the  public  opinion  in  his  regard.  Scarcely  had  he 
retired  from  office  to  the  employments  of  a  private  life,  when  the 
votes  of  the  nation  again  appointed  him  commander-in-chief  of  a 
provisional  army,  raised  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  on  war  against 
the  leaders  of  the  French  revolutionary  government.  It  fortunately 
happened  that  hostilities  were  confined  to  some  private  encounters 
at  sea,  as  the  disputes  between  the  two  powers  were  soon  amicably 
adjusted;  still,  "Washington  did  not  see  their  termination,  having 
died  almost  suddenly  at  Mount  Vernon,  on  the  fourteenth  of  Decem- 
ber, 1799,  in  the  sixty-eighth  year  of  his  age. 
38 


446  MODERN    HISTORY.  PartVlIl 

There  have  been  in  the  world,  more  powerful  geniuses,  mightier 
conquerors  than  Washington  ;  yet,  if  every  thing  be  well  considered, 
if  we  call  to  mind  the  scantiness  of  his  means  together  with  hi? 
undaunted  and  successful  perseverance,  few  will  be  found  who  me- 
rited from  their  contemporaries  as  high  encomiums  as  the  American 
general  did;  still  fewer  who  evinced  as  much  magnanimity  in  the 
most  distressing  cases;  and  none  perhaps  who,  placed  in  the  same  or 
in  the  like  situation,  ever  equalled  him  in  integrity,  disinterestedness 
and  patriotism.  In  this  point  of  view,  Washington  seems  to  stand 
alone;  in  this  chiefly  must  he  appear  to  every  one  an  extraordinary 
man  ;  a  man  truly  deserving  of  being  for  ever  called  the  Father  of  his 
country,  truly  worthy  of  the  eternal  gratitude  of  Americans,  whose 
independence  he  secured  by  his  military  achievements,  whose  national 
strength  he  increased  by  his  political  wisdom,  and  whose  prosperity 
he  so  successfully  promoted  by  his  unabated  zeal,  and  the  vast  influ- 
ence of  his  moral  character. 


FRENCH  REVOLUTION— A.  D.  1789—1795. 


WHILE  the  newly  founded  republic,  of  the  United  States  was  rapidly 
rising  from  embarrassment  to  wealth  and  greatness,  one  of  the  most 
ancient  and  powerful  monarchies  in  Europe  crumbled,  as  it  were, 
in  pieces,  and  disappeared  for  a  time  from  the  rank  of  civilized 
nations.  France,  which  had  "been  so  instrumental  in  assisting  the 
Americans  throughout  their  hardships  and  difficulties,  was  now 
plunged  in  an  abyss  of  confusion  and  anarchy  unprecedented  in  the 
annals  of  the  world.  The  proximate  cause  of  this  frightful  revolu- 
tion is  generally  supposed  to  have  been  the  deranged  state  of  the 
finances,  as  it  could  be  remedied  neither  by  the  measures  of  a  vacil- 
lating ministry,  nor  by  the  personal  sacrifices  of  the  virtuous  king 
Louis  XVI.  To  this  may  be  added  the  desire  of  imitating  the  exam- 
ple of  the  United  Colonies  in  their  struggle  for  independence;  a  desire 
conceived  and  cherished  by  those  who,  expecting  to  derive  profit  from 
a  change  of  government,  little  considered  that  the  cause  of  America 
was  widely  different  from  that  of  France,  and  that,  moreover,  the 
same  course  which  had,  from  a  variety  of  circumstances,  benefited 
one  of  these  countries,  might,  on  the  contrary,  produce  the  most 
pernicious  effects  on  the  other. 

But  the  chief,  though  remote  cause  of  the  French  revolution,  was 
that  spirit  of  irreligion  and  infidelity  which,  from  the  regency  of  the 
duke  of  Orleans  (1715—1723),  had  made  such  a  deplorable  progress 
in  France.  This  fatal  seed,  transplanted  from  England  and  Holland 


A.  D.  1789-1795. 


FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  447 


to  the  soil  of  their  neighbors,  received  there  its  full  growth  by  the 
wicked  exertions  of  such  men  as  Voltaire,  Diderot  and  others  of  the 
same  stamp.  During  a  weak  administration,  under  several  faithless 
ministers,  the  most  violent  attacks  were  directed  with  impunity  against 
religion  and  all  lawful  authority,  against  the  altar  and  the  throne. 
The  contagion  rapidly  spread  from  the  capital  to  the  provinces;  and, 
although  a  multitude  of  excellent  writers  victoriously  refuted  the 
sophisms  of  incredulity  concealed  under  an  elegant  style  and  tne 
assumed  name  of  philosophy,  impious  and  infamous  productions  of 
every  description  continued  to  go  forth  and  destroy,  in  the  minds  of 
their  incautious  readers,  the  germ  of  piety,  of  respect  for  the  laws, 
and  of  every  virtue. 

This  anti-christian  conspiracy  was  carried  on  particularly  during 
the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Upheld  by  human  pride 
and  passions,  it  received  an  additional  strength  from  its  union  with 
the  Jansenists,  a  body  of  sectarians  equally  hostile  to  Church  and 
State,  who  had  now  existed  in  France  for  upwards  of  a  hundred 
years.  Lastly,  the  evil  was  rendered  in  some  measure  desperate  by 
the  expulsion  of  the  Jesuits,  that  society  of  men  so  learned,  so  zealous, 
so  eminently  useful  in  defending  religion,  promoting  piety,  and  train- 
ing up  youth  in  all  good,  moral  and  social  principles. 

Thus,  throughout  a  nation  hitherto  so  universally  attached  to  her 
faith  as  well  as  to  her  sovereigns,  numbers  of  persons  permitted 
themselves  to  be  seduced  into  a  variety  of  impious  systems,  and  an 
unboun-ded  desire  of  pernicious  innovations.  This  was  unfortunately 
the  spirit  which  animated  most  of  those  who  composed,  in  1789,  the 
famous  assembly  of  the  States-general,  convened  at  Versailles  for  the 
purpose  of  finding  out  means  and.  adopting  measures  conducive  to 
the  improvement  of  the  finances.  Their  first  step,  at  the  opening  of 
the  session,  was  to  oppose  the  excellent  views  of  King  Louis  XVI; 
and  this  was  soon  followed  by  the  still  bolder  attempt  of  framing  a 
new  constitution  for  France. 

The  immediate  effects  of  this  illegal  enactment  were,  the  equally 
-'illegal  seizure  of  ecclesiastical  property,  the  tender  to  the  clergy  of  an 
oath  wholly  incompatible  with  the  principles  of  jurisdiction  established 
by  Christ  in  his  Church,  and  finally  edicts  of  persecution  against 
tbose  who  would  refuse  to  sacrifice  their  conscience  for  temporal 
considerations.  Of  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  bishops,  only  four 
took  the  unlawful  oath;  and  but  a  comparatively  small  number  of 
the  inferior  clergy  imitated  their  example,  myriads  of  others  prefer- 
ring to  lose  every  thing  upon  earth  rather  than  betray  their  duty. 
Most  of  those  who  remained  thus  faithful,  were  forced  to  quit  the 
kingdom,  and  fly  for  refuge  to  Italy,  Spain.  Switzerland.  Germany, 
or  even  to  cross  the  seas,  in  order  to  reach  the  hospitable  shores  of 


448  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Part  VIII 


England,,  Ireland  or  North  America;  while  others,  who  stayed  in 
France,  were  daily  exposed  to  imprisonment  and  death. 

By  the  leaders  of  the  revolution,  the  nobility  were  not  better  treated 
than  the  bishops  and  priests.  An  immense  number  of  persons, 
from  the  most  distinguished  classes  of  society,  emigrated  to  a  foreign 
land,  for  the  double  purpose  of  avoiding  the  evils  which  threatened 
them,  and  of  returning  with  a  regular  force  to  chastise  the  oppressors 
of  their  unhappy  country.  But  the  storm  had  already  burst  with  too 
much  violence.  After  removing  the  supports  of  the  throne,  whom 
they  called  the  abettors  of  tyranny,  the  real  tyrants  of  France,  under 
the  successive  names  of  notional,  constituent,  legislative  assembly,  and 
of  national  convention,  exerted  their  utmost  endeavors  first  in  de- 
grading, and  afterwards  in  demolishing  the  throne  itself.  They  skil- 
fully took  advantage  of  the  excessive  condescension  of  Louis,  gradu- 
ally to  limit  his  privileges,  and  of  his  reluctance  in  shedding  any  blood 
in  his  defence,  to  oblige  him,  by  the  repeated  and  atrocious  attacks  of 
an  infuriated  populace,  to  surrender  himself  and  his  family  into 
their  hands. 

This  event  sealed  the  fate  of  the  unfortunate  monarch.  The  tigers 
who  thirsted  for  his  blood,  Marat,  Danton,  Robespierre,  and  others 
of  their  party,  now  the  most  powerful  in  the  capital,  lost  no  time  in 
procuring  his  condemnation.  It  was  in  vain  that  Louis,  brought 
before  that  iniquitous  tribunal,  easily  refuted  their  absurd  charges; 
in  vain  too,  that  eloquent  advocates  powerfully  vindicated  his  inno- 
cence :  the  death  of  the  virtuous  king  was  desired ;  capital  punishment 
was  decreed;  and  he  met  his  fate  on  the  twenty-first  of  January 
(A.  D.  1793),  with  the  magnanimity  of  a  Christian  prince  and  the 
piety  of  a  martyr.*  In  the  ensuing  October,  his  royal  consort,  Marie 
Antoinette,  and  in  May  1794,  his  angelic  sister,  Elizabeth,  were  also 
led  to  execution.  One  year  later,  the  young  dauphin,  Louis  XVII, 
died  in  prison  of  a  disease  contracted  from  close  confinement,  and 
from  the  barbarous  treatment  inflicted  on  him  by  the  monsters  who 
regarded  neither  rank  nor  virtue,  neither  sex  nor  age.  Of  all  the 
members  of  that  unfortunate  family  whom  the  revolutionary  storm 
had  placed  within  their  reach,  the  daughter  of  Louis  XVI,  after- 
wards Duchess  of  Angouleme,  was  the  only  one  that  they  did  not 
think  proper  to  sacrifice  to  their  frantic  fury. 

*  Every  one  knows  the  perfect  resignation  of  Louis  XVI  to  his  fate ;  the 
noble  tranquillity  of  his  soul,  marked  by  that  profound  sleep  from  which 
his  valet-de-chambre  was  obliged  to  wake  him  a  few  hours  before  the  exe- 
cution; the  pure  feelings  of  heavenly  charity  expressed  in  his  last  will;  the 
glowing  fervor  with  which  he  received  the  last  succors  of  religion ;  and 
those  sublime  words  which  his  confessor  (Abbe*  Firmont  Edgeworth) 
addressed  to  him  at  the  foot  of  the  scaffold :  "  Son  of  Saint  Louis,  ascend  to 
heaven!" 


A.  D.  1780-1795.         FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  449 

Massacres  of  priests  and  other  innocent  persons  had  been  already- 
committed  in  various  quarters  of  Paris,  even  before  the  king's  execu- 
tion; his  death  seemed  to  be  a  signal  for  fresh  and  more  extensive 
slaughters.  The  levelling  fury  of  Robespierre  and  his  accomplices 
now  rapidly  reached  from  the  capital  to  the  boundaries  of  the  king- 
dom. A  dark  veil  of  terror  and  death  covered  all  France;  scaffolds 
were  erected  in  various  provinces  and  in  almost  every  populous  city ; 
new  torments  were  invented  against  the  defenders  of  religion  and 
monarchy;  and,  from  the  year  1792  to  1794,  biood  continued  to  flow 
in  every  part  of  this  unhappy  country.  Nor  was  this  enough  for  the 
madness  and  impiety  of  the  demagogues  now  in  possession  of  the 
sovereign  power  in  France;  whatever  appertained  to  the  divine  wor- 
ship, became  the  peculiar  object  of  their  hatred ;  sacred  things  and 
places  were  either  desecrated  or  destroyed ;  Sundays  and  festivals 
abolished ;  every  mark  of  Christianity  was  obliterated ;  and  instead  of 
the  hallowed  rites  and  ceremonies  of  the  Church  was  substituted  the 
infamous  worship  of  the  goddess  Reason. 

Such  a  state  of  things  could  not  fail  to  excite  feelings  of  horror  in 
the  breasts  of  those  who  had  not  lost  all  sense  of  humanity  and 
religion.  Whilst  a  kind  of  stupor  oppressed  all  ranks;  whilst  mil- 
lions, either  destitute  of  -sufficient  energy  or  deprived  of  adequate 
means  of  resistance,  silently  wept  over  the  awful  scenes  of  impiety 
and  bloodshed  by  which  they  were  surrounded :  several  great  cities, 
Lyons,  Toulon,  etc.,  made  distinguished  efforts  to  resist  the  oppres- 
sors of  France,  but  in  vain.  The  vigor  of  the  national  Convention, 
and  the  bravery  of  her  armies  easily  baffled  these  ill-concerted,  though 
generous  exertions,  and  the  result  served  only  to  expose  their  authors 
to  the  increased  fury  of  the  revolutionary  tempest. 

The  conflict  between  the  abettors  and  the  opponents  of  anarchy 
was  still  more  remarkable  in  the  western  provinces  of  the  kingdom, 
particularly  in  Vendee,  whose  religious  and  brave  inhabitants  had 
unanimously  risen  up  in  arms  for  the  support  of  the  ancient  faith 
and  government.  The  astonishing  exploits  of  these  heroic  country- 
men more  than  once  caused  the  reigning  impiety  to  tremble;  unfor- 
tunately, incidents  and  obstacles  beyond  their  control  impeded  their 
progress.  Their  native  land  was  devoted  to  all  the  atrocities  of  re- 
venge; the  Vendeans  fell  before  an  enraged  and  constantly  increasing 
foe;  but  it  was  only  after  having  fought  seventeen  pitched  battles, 
mostly  with  success,  and  destroyed  or  dispersed  nearly  three  hundred 
thousand  of  the  best  republican  troops. 

In  another  and  more  distant  quarter,  the  French  emigrants  were 

not  idle.     Having  formed  themselves  into  a  regular  and  gallant  force 

under  the  command  of  the  prince  of  Conde,  they  also  evinced  in 

various  engagements  that  brilliant  valor  which  always  distinguished 

38*    * 


I 


450  MODERN    HISTORY.  Parl  Vrn 

the  Frencli  nobility;  but  their  efforts,  not  being  sufficiently  seconded 
by  the  foreign  powers,  proved  equally  unsuccessful.  The  Austrians 
and  Prussians,  who  had  first  made  a  rapid  advance  and  gained  great 
advantages  over  the  republicans,  suddenly  abandoned  their  enterprise, 
and,  being  defeated  by  General  Dumouriez  at  Valmy  and  Jemmapes 
towards  the  close  of  1792,  evacuated  the  French  territory. 

The  war  however  was  not  ended,  but  soon  recommenced  with  still 
greater  animosity  than  before,,  when  the  confederacy  against  France, 
first  set  up  by  the  Austrians  and  Prussians  who,  just  at  that  time, 
received  a  vast  increase  of  power  and  territory  from  the  dismember- 
ment of  Poland,  was  joined  by  Holland,  England,  Spain,  and  after- 
wards by  Russia,  which  last  country  the  genius  of  the  Empress  Ca- 
therine II,  and  her  recent  victories  over  the  Poles  and  the  Turks,  had 
now  rendered  most  powerful.  At  the  sight  of  this  mighty  coalition 
against  the  newly  founded  republic,  one  might  naturally  have  antici- 
pated her  speedy  downfall,  and  it  is  true  that  her  armies  occasionally 
experienced  severe  checks  and  defeats :  still,  licrs  generally  were  the 
honors  and  the  advantages  of  the  field ;  almost  every  where,  her 
troops,  guided  by  able  generals,  won  the  laurels  of  victory,  and  would 
have  thrown  imperishable  glory  round  the  French  name,  had  they 
fought  for  a  better  cause. 

Thus,  after  the  defeat  of  Dumouriez  at  Nerwinde  in  1793,  Hoche 
and  Pichegru  succeeded  in  driving  the  allies  beyond  the  Rhine.  Jour- 
dan  overthrew  another  of  their  armies  near  Fleurus,  after  an  obsti- 
nate and  protracted  engagement,  during  which  he  skilfully  made  use 
of  balloons  to  discover  all  the  movements  of  the  enemy  (A.  D.  1794). 
Belgium,  Holland,  and  all  the  left  side  of  the  Rhine,  being  no  longer 
protected  by  a  sufficient  number  of  troops,  fell  under  the  power  of 
the  victors.  Such  was,  in  1795,  the  situation  of  affairs,  when  a  still 
greater  man  appeared  at  the  head  of  the  Republican  armies,  who 
carried  the  military  glory  of  France  to  the  highest  pitch,  and,  by  a 
long  series  of  military  achievements,  cast  all  preceding  adventurers  in 
the  shade. 


NAPOLEON  BONAPARTE,  GENERAL  AND  CONSUL. 
A.  D.  1796—1804. 


NAPOLEON  Bonaparte  was  born  at  Ajaccio  in  Corsica,  some  say, 
in  1768,  but,  according  to  other  accounts  and  his  own  opinion,  on 
the  fifteenth  of  August,  1769.  Having  gone  successfully  through  a 
course  of  studies  in  the  military  school  of  Brienne,  he  was  appointed 
an  officer  in  a  corps  of  artillery,  and  when  the  French  revolution 


D.  1795-1804. 


ETC.  451 


broke  out,  warmly  espoused  and  defended  its  cause.  He  signalized 
nimself,  in  1793,  at  the  siege  of  Toulon,  whose  capture  by  the  repub- 
licans was  owing  chiefly  to  his  exertions;  and  still  more  so  in  1795, 
when  he  rendered  the  national  Convention,  at  the  close  of  its  career, 
victorious  over  the  Parisian  populace.  For  these  services  rendered 
to  the  republic,  Bonaparte  demanded  as  a  reward,  and  obtained  from 
the  Directory  which  succeeded  the  Convention,  the  chief  command 
of  the  army  in  Italy  (A.  D.  179G). 

In  his  very  first  campaign,  he  appeared  a  consummate  general. 
Finding  the  troops  in  a  state  of  great  destitution  and  despondency,  he 
first  endeavored  to  animate  their  courage,  and  succeeded  in  infusing 
his  own  ardor  into  their  breasts,  by  pointing  out  to  them  the  fertile 
plains  of  Piedmont  as  the  remuneration  of  their  valor.  He  then 
opened  that  brilliant  campaign,  in  which  a  bold  natural  genius,  im- 
proved by  a  profound  study  of  all  the  parts  of  warfare,  enabled  him  to 
fi^ht  with  astonishing  success  against  the  most  experienced  generals 
of  the  age.  His  peculiar  mode  of  attacking  consisted  in  precision  of 
movement,  concentration  of  forces  and  formidable  charges  upon  a 
determinate  point.  Having,  from  the  beginning,  cut  off  all  commu- 
nication between  the  Austrian  and  Sardinian  troops,  he  gained,  in  a 
few  weeks,  the  victories  of  Montenotte,  Millesimo,  Hondo vi  and 
Lodi,  conquered  Lombardy,  and  laid  siege  to  Mantua,  the  strongest 
bulwark  of  Italy  in  that  quarter. 

The  court  of  Vienna,  sensible  of  the  vast  importance  of  that  place, 
despatched  numerous  troops  under  able  generals  to  its  assistance; 
but  their  efforts  were  of  no  avail.  One  of  the  Austrian  armies,  led 
by  the  intrepid  Wurmser,  was  signally  defeated  at  Castiglione  and 
Bassano;  another,  under  the  command  of  Alvinzi,  was,  after  an 
obstinate  conflict,  driven  from  its  formidable  position  at  Arcola;  and 
another,  in  fine,  experienced  a  complete  overthrow  in  the  decisive 
battle  of  Rivoli.  Throughout  that  series  of  bloody  engagements, 
Bonaparte  gave  numerous  instances  of  both  tactical  ability  and  per- 
sonal valor.  He  soon  reaped  the  fruit  of  his  exertions ;  Mantua,  re- 
duced to  the  last  extremity,  was  obliged  to  surrender,  and  the  French 
saw  themselves  undisputed  masters  of  all  northern  Italy  (A.  D.  1797). 
The  treaty  of  Campo  Formio,  concluded  in  the  same  year  with  Aus- 
tria, secured  this  brilliant  success ;  whilst,  in  virtue  of  other  agree- 
ments, an  end  was  put  to  the  independence  of  the  Venetian  republic, 
and  enormous  contributions  were  levied  on  other  Italian  States  in 
behalf  of  the  conquerors. 

Bonaparte  now  thought  of  undertaking  a  grand  expedition  into  the 
East,  where  he  would  be  placed  beyond  the  reach  of  any  superior 
command,  and  enabled  to  destroy  the  British  power  in  India.  The 
French  Directory,  who  began  to  dread  his  influence  in  the  govern- 


452  MODERN  HISTORY.  PRrt  VI/l 

ment,  and  were  glad  to  get  rid  of  him  in  an  honorable  manner,  wil- 
lingly gave  their  consent  to  the  projected  expedition.  Four  hundred 
transports  and  thirteen  ships  of  the  line  were  assembled  in  the  port 
of  Toulon  to  convey  to  Egypt  forty  thousand  warriors,  together  with 
a  great  number  of  learned  men,  and  all  the  materials  requisite  for  the 
conquest,  the  exploration  and  the  colonization  of  that  distant  country. 

This  powerful  armament  sailed  on  the  twentieth  of  May  (A.  D. 
1793),  and,  after  taking  easy  possession  of  Malta  through  the  treach- 
ery or  pusillanimity  of  some  knights,  safely  reached  the  Egyptian 
shores.  The  troops  were  landed,  and  began  the  work  of  conquest  by 
the  capture  of  Alexandria. 

Their  subsequent  victory  over  the  Mamelukes  in  the  celebrated 
battle  of  the  Pyramids,  rendered  them  masters  of  Cairo  and  Lower 
Egypt.  But  the  fleet,  under  admiral  Brueys,  was  almost  entirely 
destroyed  in  the  bay  of  Aboukir  by  the  English  admiral  Nelson;  and 
the  land  troops  themselves  were  foiled  in  their  attempt  upon  Acre  in 
Palestine.  Moreover,  their  numbers  were  daily  thinned  by  distemper 
or  excessive  fatigue:  and  though  they  performed  yet  prodigies  of 
valor;  though  they  enlarged  their  conquests,  and  gained  two  other 
signal  victories,  the  one  under  Bonaparte,  and  the  other  under  Kle- 
ber,  his  successor  in  command,  they  were  at  length  unable  to  cope 
successfully  with  the  combined  forces  of  the  English  and  Turks.  A 
capitulation  followed,  in  virtue  of  which  they  were  not  only  allowed 
to  return,  but  even  afforded  the  means  of  returning  to  their  native 
country. 

Their  departure  from  Egypt  had  been  preceded  by  that  of  Bona- 
parte, whom  the  course  of  events  in  France  had  recalled  to  Paris. 
Seeing  that  his  arrival  there  was  greeted  with  general  congratulation 
and  rejoicing,  he  skilfully  availed  himself  of  these  favorable  disposi- 
tions, to  overturn  the  unpopular  government  of  the  Directory;  and, 
causing  a  new  form  of  government  to  be  adopted,  he  was  appointed 
its  head  and  sovereign  leader  under  the  title  of  first  consul  (A.  D. 
1799). 

During  his  absence,  Italy  had  been  the  theatre  of  surprising  revo- 
lutions. The  French  republicans,  not  satisfied  with  their  late  con- 
quests, had  further  indulged  their  ambition  by  invading  the  Ecclesi- 
astical State,  taking  possession  of  Rome,  and  dragging  into  exile  the 
unoffending  and  venerable  Pope  Pius  VI,  who  soon  after  died  at 
Valence  in  France,  at  the  age  of  eighty-two  years.  The  kings  of 
Naples  and  Sardinia  were  likewise  driven  from  their  continental  do- 
minions; and  the  whole  peninsula  now  appeared  prostrate  at  the 
feet  of  the  French ;  when  suddenly,  at  the  northern  frontier,  the  hero 
of  Russia,  Suwarrow,  made  his  appearance  with  an  Austro-Russian 
army  proud  of  fighting  under  such  a  leader,  the  irresistible  foe  of  the 


A.  D.  J790-1804.  NAPOLEON,    ETC.  453 

Turks  and  the  Poles.  One  campaign  of  this  great  man  was  suffi- 
cient to  wrest  from  the  French  those  fair  Italian  provinces,  whicn 
they  had  acquired  with  so  much  labor  and  loss  of  life.  General 
Moreau,  who  had  previously  won  many  laurels  on  the  field  of  battle, 
and  who  now  commanded  an  army  of  twenty-five  thousand  men, 
was  forced  in  his  intrenchments  at  Cassano; — Macdonald  lost  twenty 
thousand  of  his  soldiers  in  a  very  disputed  battle  near  the  river  Tre- 
bia; — and  the  entire  defeat  of  another  French  army  at  Novi,  after 
twelve  hours  of  an  obstinate  and  bloody  conflict,  gave  a^eath  blow 
to  their  preponderance  in  Italy.  But  the  superiority  of  the  Russians 
was  of  short  duration:  it  seemed  as  if  Suwarrow  had  come  for  no 
other  purpose  than  to  facilitate  the  election  of  a  new  pontiff:  no 
sooner  had  he  prepared  the  way  for  it  by  compelling  the  revolution- 
ary troops  to  evacuate  Italy,  than,  finding  himself  ill-seconded  by  the 
Austrians,  he  was  obliged  to  retreat  across  the  Alps  before  the  supe- 
rior force  of  General  Massena;  and  it  was  only  with  the  greatest 
difficulty  and  by  incredible  exertions  of  courage  that  he  succeeded  in 
extricating  the  sad  remnant  of  his  once  flourishing  and  victorious  army. 

The  road  into  the  peninsula  being  thus  again  opened  to  the  French, 
Bonaparte  did  not  fail  to  seize  the  favorable  occasion  for  the  recovery 
of  his  former  conquests.  Treading  in  the  bold  steps  of  Annibal,  he 
fearlessly  crossed  with  his  army  the  most  dangerous  steeps  of  the 
Alps,  and  in  a  few  weeks  reached  Marengo,  where  the  Austrians 
under  General  Melas  occupied  a  strong  position.  Here,  on  the  four- 
teenth of  June,  1800,  a  most  obstinate  and  fierce  battle  was  fought, 
which  lasted  from  morning  till  night.  Nearly  the  whole  day,  the 
French  were  on  the  point  of  being  entirely  defeated }  but  the  timely 
arrival  of  General  Dessaix  with  his  division  of  fresh  troops  enabled 
them  at  length  to  gain  a  signal  and  decisive  victory,  which  made  them 
once  more  masters  of  northern  Italy. 

The  success  of  their  arms,  about  this  time,  was  not  less  brilliant  in 
Holland,  where  General  Brune  obliged  the  Anglo-Russian  army  to 
retire  and  to  evacuate  the  country ;  and  in  Germany,  where  Moreau 
had  resumed  his  former  course  of  conquests.  During  the  whole  of 
this  campaign  (A.  D.  1800),  that  distinguished  general  performed  ex- 
ploits at  least  equal  to  those  of  Bonaparte  himself.  The  important 
victories  of  Hochstadt  and  Hohenlinden  led  him  almost  to  the  gates 
of  Vienna;  and  the  Austrian  court,  destitute  of  further  resources, 
was  obliged  to  conclude  the  disadvantageous  peace  of  Luneville, 
which  ceded  the  whole  left  bank  of  the  Rhine  to  the  French  repub- 
lic. Prussia,  Russia  and  Spain  had  already  laid  down  their  arms,  so 
that  England  was  left  alone  to  continue  the  struggle.  Her  navy,  it 
is  true,  constantly  retained  the  empire  of  the  seas,  capturing  the  re- 
maining squadrons  and  colonies  of  the  French,  driving  them  from 


454  MODERN   HISTORY.  Part  VIII. 

the  island  of  Malta,  and  severely  harassing,  near  Copenhagen,  the 
fleet  of  Denmark,  which  government  had  become  favorable  to  the 
interests  of  France.  Still,  as  these  actions,  brilliant  though  they 
were,  did  not  strike  at  the  continental  superiority  of  Bonaparte,  the 
continuation  of  the  war  seemed  to  be  without  an  object.  Negotia- 
tions were  opened,  and  the  two  parties  agreeing  to  restore ^.everal  of 
their  conquests,  the  definitive  treaty  was  signed  at  Amiens,  on  the 
twenty-seventh  of  March,  1802,  to  the  great  joy  of  both  the  French 
and  English. 

Bonaparte  spent  the  short  interval  which  elapsed  between  the  ces- 
sation and  the  renewal  of  hostilities,  in  performing  several  acts  of  a 
vigorous  and  generally  very  useful  administration.  In  compliance 
with  a  concordate  agreed  upon  between  him  and  Pope  Pius  VII,  he 
reestablished  religious  worship  in  France;  reorganized  the  public 
instruction;  published  a  civil  code;  afforded  great  facilities  to  com- 
merce, and  greatly  embellished  Paris  with  new  buildings  and  monu- 
ments. But  he,  at  the  same  time,  impaired  much  his  reputation  by  the 
rigor  with  which  he  prosecuted  as  guilty  of  treason  the  two  illustri- 
ous commanders  Moreau  and  Pichegru,  one  of  whom  was  sent  into 
exile,  and  the  other  was  found  dead  in  his  prison  before  the  conclu- 
sion of  the  trial.  Still  more  odious  was  the  juridical  assassination 
of  the  Duke  d'Enghien,  a  young  and  hopeful  prince  of  the  Bourbon 
family,  who,  contrary  to  all  right,  was  arrested  upon  a  foreign  terri- 
tory, hurried  to  Paris,  and,  after  a  mock  trial,  shot  during  the  night 
in  the  ditch  of  the  castle  of  Vincennes.  In  fine,  the  measure 
adopted  by  the  French  government  to  crush  entirely  the  insurrection, 
which  had  now  lasted  twelve  years,  of  the  blacks  against  the  whites 
of  San-Domingo,  proved  likewise  the  more  prejudicial  to  the  first 
consul's  glory,  as  it  was,  if  not  perfidious,  at  least  ungenerous  and 
imprudent.  The  chief  leader  of  the  insurgents  being,  notwithstand- 
ing his  previous  submission,  arrested  and  sent  a  captive  to  France, 
the  exasperated  blacks  completed  with  fire  and  sword  the  destruction 
of  the  French  colony,  and  on  its  bloody  ruins  began  to  erect  the  new 
republic  of  Hayti. 

During  all  these  transactions,  Bonaparte  was  mainly  intent  on  es- 
tablishing his  power  on  a  firmer  basis.  After  causing  himself  to  be 
named  consul  for  life,  with  liberty  to  appoint  his  successor,  he  finally 
resolved  to  assume  the  sceptre.  Addresses  were  made  by  the  civil 
and  military  bodies,  offering  him  the  imperial  dignity,  which  he  con- 
descended to  accept.  He  was  crowned  emperor  of  the  French,  in 
December  1804,  by  the  pope  himself,  who,  wishing  to  avoid  the 
fatal  consequences  of  a  refusal,  went  to  Paris  for  that  purpose. 
Spain,  Prussia  and  all  the  other  European  powers,  except  England, 
acknowledged  Napoleon  in  this  new  title,  to  which  he  soon  added  the 


A.  D.  1805-1615.          NAPOLEON,  EMPEROR.  455 

appellation  of  king  of  Italy;  while  the  successor  of  Maria  Theresa 
and  of  Charles  V,  Francis  II,  changed  also  his  title  of  emperor  of 
Germany,  into  that  of  emperor  of  Austria. 


NAPOLEON  BONAPARTE,  EMPEROR.— A.  D.  1805—1815. 


SINCE  the  treaty  of  Amiens,  the  two  rival  cabinets  of  France  and 
England  had  frequently  expostulated  with  each  other,  either  concern- 
ing the  execution  of  the  stipulated  articles,  or  about  other  more  or  less 
important  matters.  Napoleon  was  particularly  offended  at  the  delay 
of  Great  Britain  in  evacuating  the  island  of  Malta;  the  English,  on 
their  side,  thought  they  had  equal  reason  to  complain  of  Napoleon's 
ambitious  views  and  continual  increase  of  power  on  the  continent. 
War,  therefore,  was  again  declared;  and  for  several  years  the  world 
beheld  the  singular  spectacle  of  the  equally  extraordinary  success  of 
the  French  on  land,  and  of  the  English  at  sea. 

It  had  been,  for  a  long  time,  the  earnest  wish  of  Napoleon,  to  ob- 
tain at  least  a  temporary  superiority  by  sea  in  order  to  effect  a  descent 
upon  England,  and  it  was  now  one  of  the  chief  objects  of  his  policy 
to  secure  the  cooperation  of  Spain.  He  succeeded  so  far  in  his  pro- 
jects, as  to  assemble  thirty-three  ships  of  the  line  and  seven  frigates, 
under  the  command  of  Admirals  Villeneuve  and'  Gravina.  The 
combined  fleets  sailed  from  Cadiz  on  the  nineteenth  of  October  (A.  D. 
1805),  and  on  the  twenty-first  of  the  same  month,  met,  off  Cape 
Trafalgar,  the  British  fleet  commanded  by  Nelson.  The  English  ad- 
miral had  no  more  than  twenty-seven  sail  of  the  line  and  four  fri- 
gates; his  inferiority  in  number  of  men  was  still  more  considerable; 
but  it  was  amply  compensated  by  their  superior  skill  and  experience, 
and  by  his  own  unrivalled  talents. 

As  Nelson  was  desirous  of  battle,  and  Villeneuve  unwilling  to 
avoid  it,  the  hostile  fleets  were  soon  engaged.  The  battle  raged  du- 
ring nearly  four  hours  with  the  greatest  fierceness,  the  ships  of  the 
two  parties  lying  quite  close  to  each  other,  and  maintaining  their 
fire  at  the  very  muzzles  of  the  cannon  ;  yet,  the  superiority  of  the 
British  seamen  was  soon  made  manifest:  nineteen  of  the  enemy's 
vessels  were  captured  with  Admiral  Villeneuve,  and  seven  others 
were  rendered  unserviceable.  This  was  a  signal  and  important  vic- 
tory, as  the  combined  fleet  of  the  French  and  Spaniards  was  almost 
totally  destroyed;  but  it  was  a  victory  too  dearly  bought:  for,  besides 
a  considerable  loss  of  men  on  the  part  of  the  conquerors  themselves, 
Nelson  received  a  musket  ball  in  the  breast,  and  died  two  hours  after 
the  termination  of  the  battle.  His  remains  were  honored  with  a 


456  MODERN    HISTORY. 


Part  VIII 


magnificent  public  funeral,  a  just  token  of  gratitude  for  the  eminent 
services  which  he  had  rendered  to  his  country. 

Whilst  the  naval  forces  of  France  and  Spain  were  annihilated  by 
the  great  man,  who  thus  died,  like  Epaminondas,  in  the  moment  of 
victory,  Napoleon,  after  vainly  threatening  England  with  an  inva- 
sion, made  a  decisive  campaign  against  the  Austro-Russians,  her 
allies.  Having,  by  a  rapid  advance,  transported  his  troops  into  the 
heart  of  the  enemy's  country,  he  obliged  the  Austrian  general  Mack, 
at  Ulm,  to~  surrender  with  thirty  or  forty  thousand  men.  Shortly 
after,  he  entered  Vienna,  and,  pressing  forward,  soon  overtook  the 
army  of  the  confederates,  whom  he  attacked  with  all  his  forces  near 
the  village  of  Austerlitz.  In  this  memorable  action,  which  the  sol- 
diers called  tJie  battle  of  the  three  emperors,  the  superior  genius  and 
masterly  movements  of  Napoleon  gave  him  one  of  the  most  brilliant 
victories  that  the  annals  of  war  can  present.  It  was  with  the  greatest 
difficulty,  that,  rallying  the  remains  of  their  routed  armies,  the  two 
allied  sovereigns  effected  their  retreat.  The  Russian  monarch  re- 
tired towards  his  own  dominions,  and  Francis  of  Austria  was  obliged 
to  sign  the  treaty  of  Presburg,  by  which  he  lost  more  than  twenty 
thousand  square  miles  of  territory,  and  two  millions  and  a  half  of 
his  subjects  (A.  D.  1805). 

The  conqueror  resolved,  in  the  ensuing  year,  to  chastise  the  king  of 
Prussia,  who,  both  before  and  after  the  overthrow  of  the  allies  at 
Austerlitz,  manifested  hostile  intentions  against  France.  The  battle 
of  Jena  (October,  1806),  in  which  the  Prussians  lost  fifty  thousand 
men  slain  or  taken  prisoners,  sufficed  to  place  Berlin,  their  capital 
city,  and  nearly  their  whole  kingdom  at  the  mercy  of  the  French. 
Bonaparte  then  marched  a  second  time  against  the  Russians,  and, 
after  the  bloody  and  well  contested  battle  of  Eylau,  entirely  defeated 
them  at  Friedland  (June,  1807).  This  series  of  victories  led  to  the 
treaty  of  Tilsit,  by  which  the  king  of  Prussia  yielded  a  great  part  of 
his  dominions  to  the  victors;  'and  both  he  and  the  emperor  of  Rus- 
sia promised  to  support  the  favorite  scheme  of  Napoleon,  which  aimed 
at  closing  the  European  ports  against  the  vessels  of  Great  Britain, 
and  was  on  that  account  named  the  continental  system. 

About  this  time  also,  Bonaparte  formed  the  confederation  of  the 
Rhine,  or  a  coalition  of  German  princes  favorable  to  his  interests ; 
and  he  raised  the  duchies  of  Bavaria,  Wurtemberg  and  Saxony  to 
the  rank  of  kingdoms,  as  a  reward  for  the  services  which  their  sove- 
reigns had,  in  quality  of  allies,  rendered  to  the  French  during  the  last 
expeditions.  In  order  to  prevent  the  Danes  from  imitating  their 
example,  the  British  government  compelled  them  to  surrender  their 
whole  fleet,  consisting  of  sixteen  ships  of  the  line  and  fifteen  frigates, 
which  were  all  conveyed  to  England.  This  haughty  proceeding  did 


A.  D.  1805-1815.  NAPOLEON,  EMPEROR.  457 

little  honor  to  the  character  of  Great  Britain,  and,  even  in  i  political 
point  of  view,  was  perhaps  more  unfavorable  than  really  advantageous 
to  her  cause,  as  it  provoked  against  her  the  indignation  and  resent- 
ment of  her  most  powerful  ally,  the  emperor  of  Russia. 

War  had  scarcely  ceased  in  one  country,  when  it  commenced  in 
anotjier.  The  Austrians,  desirous  to  retrieve  their  recent  losses, 
determined  to  oppose  Napoleon  again  in  the  field.  They  made,  for 
that  purpose,  truly  gigantic  exertions,  raising  their  armies  to  the 
extraordinary  number  of  five  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  men;  still, 
in  spite  of  their  unyielding  courage  and  of  the  abilities  of  their  chief 
commander,  Archduke  Charles,  this  new  struggle  proved  fully  as 
disastrous  to  their  arms  as  any  preceding  conflict.  The  French 
poured  with  their  usual  rapidity  upon  the  German  provinces,  gained 
four  victories  within  five  days,  and  took  Vienna  for  the  second  time. 
Their  subsequent  repulse  at  Esling  cost  them,  it  is  true,  thirty  thou- 
sand brave  soldiers  with  the  intrepid  Marshal  Lannes,  and  exposed 
them  to  a  complete  overthrow ;  but  the  Austrian  prince,  though  pos- 
sessed of  remarkable  talents,  was  not  so  capable  of  improving  his 
advantage,  as  his  enemy  was  of  remedying  his  disaster.  By  prodi- 
gious exertions  of  energy,  activity  and  skill,  Napoleon  soon  found 
himself  in  readiness  to  renew  the  attack,  and,  on  the  sixth  of  July, 
the  dreadful  battle  of  Wagram  was  fought,  in  which  it  is  supposed 
that  three  hundred  thousand  men  were  engaged,  and  which  terminated 
in  the  entire  defeat  of  the  Austrians.  Their  sovereign  was  compelled 
once  more  to  sue  for  peace,  nor  could  he  obtain  it  but  by  making 
new  concessions  of  a  large  extent  of  territory,  and  giving  his  daughter 
Maria  Louisa  in  marriage  to  the  victorious  emperor  (A.  D.  1809). 

Napoleon  had  now  reached  the  summit  of  power  and  glory.  Hav- 
ing reared  the  edifice  of  his  greatness  by  continual  and  almost  unex- 
ampled success  in  war;  supported  in  that  high  station  by  formidable 
armies,  excellent  generals,  and  the  superiority  of  his  talents;  enjoying 
the  satisfaction  of  having  placed  his  brothers,  Louis,  Jerome,  Joseph, 
and  his  brother-in-law,  Murat,  upon  the  thrones  of  Holland,  West- 
phalia, Spain  and  Naples;  his  royal  and  imperial  authority  seemed  to 
rest  on  the  strongest  basis  that  could  be  desired.  Yet,  this  powerful 
conqueror,  this  mighty  sovereign,  was  destined  to  experience  the 
utmost  severity  of  fortune,  and  that  too,  in  a  manner  so  much  the 
more  striking,  as  he  began,  just  at  the  time  of  his  splendid  expedition 
of  Wagram,  to  dig  with  his  own  hands  the  precipice  into  which  he 
was  soon  to  fall  from  his  elevated  station. 

Elated  with  prosperity,  and  anxious  to  bring  every  thing  under  his 
control,  Napoleon  solicited  the  pope  to  close  his  harbors  against  Bri- 
tish commerce,  and  become  a  party  to  the  war  against  England  and 
Austria.  This,  Pius  VII  positively  and  constantly  refused;  being,  he 
39 


458  MODERN   HISTORY.  Part  VIII. 

answered,  the  Father  of  all  Christian  nations,  he  could  not,  consis 
tently  with  that  character,  become  the  enemy  of  any  one.  The  em- 
peror was  highly  incensed  at  this  courageous  refusal,  and,  in  order  to 
gratify  his  ambition,  determined  on  following  a  more  audacious  course. 
By  a  decree  dated  at  Vienna,  the  seventeenth  of  May,  1809,  he 
declared  the  Ecclesiastical  State  annexed  to  his  empire;  and,  as  this 
unwarrantable  proceeding  was  instantly  punished  by  excommunica- 
tion, the  French  troops  who  had  already  taken  possession  of  Rome, 
received  an  order  to  send  the  excellent  pontiff  into  captivity  and  exile. 
This  outrageous  act  filled  up  the  measure  of  Napoleon's  blindness 
and  ingratitude,  and,  by  provoking  alike  the  justice  of  God  and  the 
indignation  of  all  sensible  men,  was  undoubtedly  the  chief  among 
the  remote  causes  of  his  subsequent  downfall. 

Equally  ungrateful  towards  the  Spaniards,  his  most  faithful  allies, 
Bonaparte  invaded  their  country  as  well  as  Portugal,  and,  after  hav 
ing,  partly  by  intrigues,  and  partly  by  compulsion,  obtained  the  abdi 
cation  of  King  Charles  IV  and  of  his  son  Ferdinand,  he  placed  his 
own  brother  Joseph  upon  the  Spanish  throne.  The  whole  kingdom 
was  overrun,  and  nearly  all  its  fortified  places  were  surprised  or  con- 
quered by  different  bodies  of  the  French  troops  under  the  command 
of  Murat,  Ney,  Massena,  Suchet,  Soult,  Marmont,  etc.,  and  some- 
times of  Napoleon  himself.  These  able  commanders,  well  provided 
with  all  things  necessary  for  a  vigorous  warfare,  and  almost  con- 
stantly receiving  strong  reinforcements,  gained  easy  victories  over  the 
brave,  but  astounded  and  now  inexperienced  Spaniards.  Still,  the 
conquerors  did  not  make  such  rapid  progress  without  suffering  great 
losses,  and  occasionally  meeting  with  very  serious  disasters.  Seven- 
teen thousand  of  their  troops  were  obliged  to  surrender  at  Baylen  to 
-General  Castanos ;  their  subsequent  success  at  Saragossa,'  so  nobly 
defended  during  two  months  by  the  heroic  Palafox,  cost  them  an 
immense  multitude  of  their  bravest  warriors,  and  they  completely 
failed  in  the  siege  of  Cadiz.  Moreover,  in  the  midst  of  a  magnani- 
mous people,  persons  of  all  classes,  of  every  age  and  condition, 
became  soldiers  for  the  defence  of  their  liberties  and  country.  Swarms 
of  guerillas  or  partisans  continually  harassed  the  march  of  the  French 
armies,  attacking  their  separate  detachments,  intercepting  the  con- 
voys, and  cutting  off  the  stragglers.  The  territory  was  occupied, 
but  the  nation  was  not  subdued;  and  Spain  seemed  to  have  become 
a  vast  and  profound  abyss  destined  to  swallow  up  the  numberless 
troops  of  Napoleon,  in  proportion  as  they  made  their  appearance. 

Next  to  this  unanimous  effort  of  the  Spanish  population,  nothing 
contributed  more  powerfully  to  rid  the  country  of  its  invaders,  than 
the  efforts  of  the  celebrated  Arthur  Wellesley,  afterwards  Duke  of 
Wellington.  This  great  man  first  signalized  himself  at  the  head 


A.  D.  1805-1815.  NAPOLEON,  EMPEROR.  459 

of  the  troops  sent  from  England  to  the  relief  of  the  Peninsula.  Being, 
after  many  exploits,  appointed  commander-in-chief  of  the  Portuguese 
and  Spanish,  as  he  was  already  of  the  British  forces,  he  was  enabled 
to  display  his  talent  with  greater  advantage,  and  vigorously  to  pursue 
his  former  success.  Several  times  he  had  been  compelled  to  retreat 
before  the  overwhelming  numbers  of  the  enemy,  but  he  repeatedly 
regained  the  ground  that  had  been  lost,  and  after  defeating  the  French 
at  Talavera  in  1809,  at  Busaco  in  1810,  and  at  Salamanca  in  1812, 
he  finally  drove  them  from  Spain  by  the  signal  victory  of  Vittoria 
(A.  D.  1813). 

Precisely  at  this  time,  northern  and  central  Europe,  uniting  in  one 
general  league  against  Bonaparte,  for  ever  shook  off  the  yoke  of  his 
ambition.  A  little  before,  in  1812,  having  declared  a  new  war 
against  the  Russians,  under  the  plea  that  they  favored  British 
commerce,  he  marched  into  their  country  with  an  army  of  nearly 
five  hundred  thousand  men,  French  and  allies,  perfectly  equipped 
and  well  disciplined.  In  the  presence  of  such  a  host,  the  most  for- 
midable, it  may  be  said,  that  the  world  ever  beheld,  the  enemy,  far 
inferior  in  numbers,  wisely  adopted  the  plan  of  acting  in  the  defen- 
sive, and  making  a  stand  only  in  favorable  positions.  In  its  retreat, 
the  Russian  army  laid  waste  all  the  country  through  which  the 
invaders  had  to  pass,  and  burnt  the  towns  in  which  they  might  have 
found  a  shelter.  Even  Moscow,  the  ancient  capital  of  Russia,  which 
the  French  at  last  reached  after  the  bloody  victories  of  Smolensk  arid 
Moscowa,  was  nobly  sacrificed  to  save  the  empire;  during  the  very 
first  night  after  their  arrival,  the  city  was  simultaneously  fired  in 
several  parts,  and  in  a  short  time  reduced  to  a  heap  of  ruins. 

Thus  deprived  of  winter  quarters  and  of  necessary  provisions,  in 
the  midst  of  an  exasperated  enemy  who  had  now  collected  his  forces, 
Napoleon,  after  in  vain  offering  peace  to  the  emperor  Alexander 
commenced  a  retreat  on  the  nineteenth  of  October.  He  had  not  pro- 
ceeded far,  when  famine  began  to  rage  among  his  wearied  troops ; 
the  Russian  army,  hovering  around  them,  incessantly  harassed  and 
obstructed  their  march,  especially  at  the  crossing  of  rivers;  winter  set 
in  with  unusual  rigor;  and  the  mortality  arising  from  these  various 
causes  became  so  dreadful,  that,  when  the  campaign  closed  (on  the 
thirteenth  of  December),  it  was  found  that  upwards  of  two  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  men  had  perished,  besides  nearly  two  hundred 
thousand  made  prisoners. 

Thus  ended  the  memorable  Russian  expedition,  the  first  of  Napo- 
leon's undertakings  in  which  he  was  completely  defeated,  and  one  too 
the  further  consequences  of  which  were  for  him  of  the  most  disastrous 
character.  Prussia  and  Sweden  now  joined  the  Russians  against  the 
French  emperor,  and  Austria  with  Bavaria  soon  imitated  their  exam- 


460  MODERN    HISTORY 


Part  VIII. 


pie.  Bonaparte,  however,  was  not  yet  disposed  to  descend  from  his 
high  pretensions,  and  having,  by  astonishing  exertions,  recruited  his 
army  to  the  amount  of  about  two  hundred  and  eighty  thousand  men, 
he  fearlessly  encountered  his  still  more  numerous  foes  in  the  eventful 
campaign  of  Saxony  (A.  D.  1813).  Such  was  even  now  the  display 
of  his  military  abilities  and  the  courage  of  his  troops,  that  he  routed 
the  allies  at  Lutzen,  Bautzen  and  Dresden  with  great  slaughter,  yet 
without  any  permanent  advantage.  Their  numbers  always  appeared 
the  same,  and  seemed  rather  to  be  daily  increasing.  They  attacked 
him  again  under  the  walls  of  Leipsic  with  three  hundred  thousand 
troops  and  nine  hundred  field  pieces,  whilst  he  could  not  concentrate 
on  that  point  more  than  one  hundred  and  seventy  thousand  men  with 
seven  hundred  pieces  of  artillery.  The  conflict  was  one  of  the  most 
awful  during  that  tremendous  war,  and  such  as  language  cannot 
describe.  During  three  days,  the  French  maintained  their  position 
with  undaunted  courage,  having,  it  is  said,  shot  from  their  cannons 
the  enormous  number  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  balls;  but, 
on  the  third  day,  being  abandoned  by  the  Saxons  their  allies,  and 
overpowered  by  numbers,  they  were  finally  compelled  to  quit  the 
field,  with  the  dreadful  loss  of  forty  thousand  men,  besides  a  vast 
multitude  of  prisoners  taken  during  the  pursuit.  Still,  the  van- 
quished preserved  their  usual  intrepidity,  which  they  displayed  at 
Hanau,  by  defeating  the  Bavarians  who  had  presumed  to  intercept 
their  retreat.  A  free  passage  was  thus  opened  for  them  to  the  French 
frontier;  but  their  conquests  in  Germany  were  lost  for  ever. 

Napoleon  was  now  deserted  by  all  his  allies,  and  obliged  to  with 
stand  alone  the  efforts  of  the  European  league  formed  against  him. 
The  beginning  of  the  year  1814  beheld  half  a  million  of  men,  Aus- 
trians,  Russians,  Prussians,  etc.,  under  their  respective  sovereigns, 
rush  from  all  directions  upon  the  French  territory.  They  had  pre- 
viously issued  a  manifesto  declaring  their  intention  both  to  maintain 
France  in  all  her  rights  as  a  nation,  and  to  crush  the  military  system 
of  her  ambitious  ruler;  a  two-fold  object  which  their  moderation  and 
their  decisive  measures  soon  enabled  them  to  attain.  It  was  to  no 
effect  that  Napoleon,  by  new  prodigies  of  activity  and  courage,  de- 
feated the  allies  at  Brienne,  Montereau,  Champaubert  and  Montmi- 
rail.  Having  made  a  better  disposition  of  their  forces,  they  at  length 
moved  towards  Paris,  and  arrived  near  that  capital  before  the  French 
emperor,  who  was  engaged  elsewhere,  could  come  to  its  relief. 

After  a  vigorous,  though  short  and  hopeless  resistance  from  the 
heights  of  Montmartre,  terms  of  capitulation  were  signed ;  and,  on 
the  thirty-first  of  March,  the  allied  sovereigns,  with  fifty  thousand 
chosen  troops,  made  their  solemn  entry  into  Paris,  amidst  the  general 
and  continued  plaudits  of  the  inhabitants,  who  received  them,  more 


A,  D.  1805-1815.  NAPOLEON,    EMPEROR.  461 

• 

as  deliverers  than  as  conquerors.  A  provisional  government  was 
formed,  and  a  decree  passed  by  the  Senate,  declaring  that  Napoleon 
Bonaparte  had  forfeited  the  throne.  It  was  also  decided  that  the  Bour- 
bon dynasty  should  be  restored,  France,  in  the  mean  while,  being 
allowed  by  the  generosity  of  the  allies  not  only  to  retain  hef  ancient 
limits,  but  even  to  receive  some  augmentation  of  territory  and  recover 
her  colonies.  As  to  the  fallen  emperor,  the  island  of  Elba,  in  the 
Mediterranean,  was  allotted  to  be  possessed  by  him  in  full  sovereignty, 
with  an  annual  revenue  of  six  millions  of  francs. 

The  allied  monarchs  soon  left  Paris,  where  Louis  XVIII,  the  brother 
of  Louis  XVI,  arrived  on  th"e  third  of  May,  1814,  to  take  possession 
of  his  throne.  The  pope,  after  five  years  captivity,. had  returned  to 
Rome ;  Bonaparte  had  also  departed  for  his  new  residence ;  and 
Europe,  after  so  many  and  so  dreadful  agitations,  began  to  enjoy  a 
long  desired  and  much  needed  repose,  when  the  storm  again  burst 
upon  it  with  renewed  fury.  The  unexpected  news  arrived,  that  the 
dethroned  emperor  had  escaped  from  his  island  and  landed  on  the 
shores  of  Provence  with  an  escort  of  nine  hundred  men.  In  fact,  he 
was  already  on  his  way  to  Paris;  the  troops  joined  him  from  all 
quarters,  and,  on  the  twentieth  of  March,  1815,  he  triumphantly  en- 
tered the  capital,  which  Louis  XVIII  had  left  but  a  few  hours  before, 
in  order  to  reach  the  northern  frontier. 

The  account  of  Napoleon's  return  quickly  reached  the  ears  of  the 
great  European  potentates,  then  assembled  at  Vienna  for  the  purpose 
of  settling  upon  a  sure  basis  the  affairs  of  the  continent.  Surprised 
and  afflicted,  but  not  dismayed,  they  declared  that  the  ex-emperor 
of  the  French,  by  breaking  the  last  treaty,  "had  placed  himself 
without  the  pale  of  civil  and  social  relations,"  and  pledged  themselves 
not  to  lay  down  their  arms  until  he  should  be  deprived  of  the  power 
of  ever  again  disturbing  the  tranquillity  of  the  world.  Bonaparte,  on 
his  side,  was  not  idle  in  making  adequate  preparations  for  the  ap- 
proaching conflict.  Having  reorganized  his  army,  he  rapidly  ad- 
vanced towards  the  Belgian  frontier,  in  order  to  attack  the  English 
under  Wellington,  and  the  Prussians  under  Blucher,  before  they 
could  be  joined  by  the  Austrians  and  the  Russians.  His  first  opera- 
tions were  prosperous,  the  allies  being  obliged  to  make  a  retrograde 
movement,  and  the  Prussians  in  particular  having  suffered  a  severe 
check  in  the  battle  of  Ligny.  He  now  directed  his  main  efforts 
against  the  English,  who  had  just  taken  a  formidable  position  near 
Waterloo;  and,  on  the  eighteenth  of  June  of  the  same  year,  1815, 
was  fought  the  decisive  battle  on  which  the  peace  of  Europe  and  his 
own  fate  depended. 

The  two  armies,  under  the  command  of  such  wonderful  men  as 
Napoleon  and  Wellington,  presented  the  most  imposing  and  terrific 
39* 


462  MODERN    HISTORY.  Part  VI [ I 

• 

appearance:  they  were  nearly  equal  as  well  in  discipline,  valor  and 
fierce  national  animosity,  as  in  numbers,  which  amounted  to  about 
seventy-five  thousand  men  on  each  side.  How  dreadful  must  have 
been  the  conflict  between  troops  of  this  character,  every  one  may 
easily  conceive.  It  commenced  about  noon  with  a  tremendous  can- 
nonade, and  was  continued  many  hours  with  almost  frantic  fury,  the 
French  infantry  and  cavalry  making  incessant  and  desperate  charges, 
which  were  all  met  with  dauntless  courage.  Towards  seven  o'clock 
in  the  evening,  Bonaparte  determined  to  carry  his  point  by  redoubled 
efforts,  ordered,  in  person,  a  new  powerful  attack  upon  the  British 
line;  his  celebrated  guard  resolutely  advanced  in  the  form  of  a 
double  column,  but  was  received  with  so  galling  a  fire  from  the 
enemy's  artillery  and  musketry  as  to  be  soon  compelled  to  give  way, 
and  had  now  to  sustain  in  their  turn  a  similar  charge  from  the 
English.  Just  at  this  decisive  moment,  the  Prussians,  having  by  a 
skilful  march  deceived  Grouchy,  who  was  opposed  to  them,  joined 
their  allies,  and  opened  a,  heavy  cannonade  on  the  right  wing  and 
rear  of  the  French.  It  was  a  moment  of  irretrievable  confusion: 
those  brave  columns  of  Napoleon,  just  before  so  formidable,  now 
broken  and  unable  to  rally,  at  last  fled  from  that  -scene  of  carnage 
where  they  left  twenty  thousand  slain,  and,  being  closely  pursued  by 
the  Prussians,  dispersed  in  every  direction.  Truly  awful  was  the 
loss  of  the  English  also  in  this  ever  memorable  battle,  since  it 
amounted  to  six  hundred  officers,  eleven  generals,  and  fifteen  thou- 
sand men  killed  and  wounded.  Still,  the  victory  of  the  allies  was 
complete;  the  whole  artillery  of  the  vanquished  army,  consisting  of 
three  hundred  guns,  fell  into  their  hands,  and  the  power  of  Bonaparte 
was  now  prostrated,  to  rise  no  more. 

Wellington,  not  being  opposed  in  his  march,  soon  appeared  with 
his  victorious  troops  in  sight  of  Paris.  That  capital  was  again  en- 
tered and  occupied  for  a  time  by  the  confederates;  while  the  remains 
of  the  imperial  army  were  obliged  to  retreat  beyond  the  river  Loire. 
The  Bourbons  once  more  recovered  their  vacillating  throne;  but 
France  was  not  so  advantageously  treated  by  the  allied  monarchs  as  she 
had  been  at  the  time  of  the  first  invasion  :  besides  a  variety  of  severe 
or  humiliating  measures  to  which  she  had  to  submit,  she  was  con- 
demned to  pay  about  seven  hundred  and  fifty  millions  of  francs  as  an 
indemnification  for  the  expenses  of  the  war. 

In  the  mean  time,  Bonaparte,  who  had  already  left  Paris,  with- 
drew to  Rochefort,  a  sea-port  on  the  western  coast  of  France,  in 
hopes  of  being  able  to  effect  his  passage  to  America.  That  port  was, 
however,  too  closely  blockaded  by  English  cruisers,  to  permit  any 
escape;  the  emperor,  seeing  all  his  attempts  to  effect  his  purpose  in- 
effectual, resolved  at  length  to  throw  himself  on  the  protection  of  the 


*.  D.  1812-1815.      SECOND    AMERICAN    WAR.  463 

British  government,,  and  went  on  board  their  ship  of  the  line,  the 
Bellerophon,  stationed  at  a  short  distance  from  the  shore.  It  was 
immediately  determined  to  send  him  to  St.  Helena,  a  remote  island 
in  the  middle  of  the  Atlantic,  as  a  place  where  he  could  be  kept  in 
perfect  security,  without  too  much  confinement  or  restraint.  Here, 
in  the  society  of  a  few  devoted  friends  who  had  chosen  to  accompany 
him  to  the  place  of  his  exile,  he  lived  about  six  years,  spending  much 
time  and  labor  in  dictating  memoirs  of  his  own  life.  The  assistance 
of  a  priest  and  the  succors  of  religion,  which  he  had  earnestly  begged, 
consoled  his  last  moments;  and  the  filth  of  May,  1821,  closed  the 
earthly  career  of  that  extraordinary  man  before  whom  Europe  had 
so  long  trembled,  and  who,  notwithstanding  the  sad  reverses  which 
clouded  the  erening  of  his  life,  is  justly  considered  the  most  power- 
ful genius  and  the  greatest  captain  of  the  age. 


SECOND  AMERICAN  WAR.— A.  D.  1812—1815. 

ENGLAND  was- not  yet  disengaged  from  her  perilous  and  gigantic 
struggle  against  the  emperor  of  the  French,  when,  by  a  series  of  at- 
tempts on  the  liberties  of  maritime  commerce,  she  again  provoked 
the  hostility  of  the  Americans.  This  may  be  called  a  political  fault 
so  much  the  greater,  as  the  United  States  had,  during  the  last  years, 
rapidly  increased  in  population,  wealth  and  power,  both  from  the  in- 
dustry of  their  inhabitants,  the  tide  of  emigration,  and  the  accession 
of  many  new  states,  Louisiana,  Kentucky,  Ohio,  etc.,  to  their  con- 
federacy. New  causes  of  provocation  continuing  to  take  place  be- 
tween the  ships  of  the  two  nations,  and  the  majority  of  the  American 
people  being  desirous  of  war  for  the  redress  of  their  grievances,  Con- 
gress openly  declared  it  on  the  eighteenth  of  June,  (A.  D.  1812). 

Its  commencement  was  very  unfavorable  to  the  arms  of  the  United 
States,  as  all  attempts  then  made  at  the. northern  frontier  to  invade 
Canada  were  not  only  fruitless,  but  also  attended  with  a  considera- 
ble loss  of  men  and  ammunition.  However,  the  spirit  of  the  people 
was  not  subdued,  nor  the  army  disheartened,  and  before  the  close  of 
the  year  1813,  they  began  to  reap  the  fruit  ot  their  perseverance  by 
capturing,  under  the  direction  of  Commodore  Perry,  the  whole  Bri- 
tish fleet  on  lake  Erie,  and  gaining,  under  General  Harrison,  the 
victory  of  the  Thames,  which  recovered  the  posts  previously  surren- 
dered to  the  enemy.  Another  victory  on  land  near  the  cataract  of 
Niagara,  and  the  destruction  of  another  British  flotilla  on  lake  Cham- 
plain,  gave  the  Americans  a  decided  superiority  in  those  quarters,  al 
least  with  regard  to  the  defence  and  protection  of  their  own  territory. 


464  MODERN     HISTORY.  Partvill. 

Their  warlike  exertions  upon  the  ocean  were  ako  generally  fortu- 
nate ;  so  much  so,  that  almost  every  week  brought  the  tidings  of  some 
brilliant  capture  made,  or  some  splendid  exploit  achieved  by  the  spirit 
and  intrepidity  of  American  seamen;  but  success  upon  the  land  was 
more  equally  divided.  Five  or  six  thousand  troops  under  General 
Ross,  having  reached  the  vicinity  of  Washington,  routed  the  Ameri- 
can force,  amounting  to  seven  or  eight  thousand  men,  including 
militia.  The  city  was  abandoned  by  the  president  and  the  heads  of 
departments,  and  soon  after  entered  by  the  conquerors,  who  did  not, 
however,  occupy  it  more  than  one  day.  Elated  with  success,  they 
resolved  to  undertake  also  the  capture  of  Baltimore,  intending  to 
make  this  important  place  their  winter  quarters.  Their  landing  at 
North  Point,  on  the  eleventh  of  September,  1814,  met  with  little  or 
no  opposition;  but  their  general  Ross  being  killed,  on  the  twelfth,  in 
his  advance  towards  the  city,  and  all  the  attacks  made  by  his  vessels 
and  troops  on  frort  McHenry  being  bravely  repulsed,  they  were  com- 
pelled to  abandon  the  enterprise. 

The  Engrish  turned  now  their  main  efforts  against  the  southern 
States.  New  Orleans  being  the  principal  object  of  their  views,  a 
powerful  armament  was  fitted  out  for  an  attack  on  this  opulent  city. 
Fortunately,  an  able  and  experienced  commander,  one  already  dis- 
tinguished for  his. feats  of  arms  in  other  parts  of  the  Union,  General 
Jackson,  was  there  to  oppose  the  progress  of  the  enemy.  Besides 
his  regular  troops  and  the  militia  of  the  neighboring  States,  he  re- 
quired of  every  citizen  who  could  bear  arms,  to  take  an  active  part 
in  the  military  operations  on  which  the  safety  of  all  depended.  The 
fortifications  were  strengthened;  an  extensive  line  of  works  was 
erected  four  miles  below  the  town,  well  furnished  with  artillery;  and, 
the  better  to  protect  his  troops  from  the  fire  of  the  assailants,  Jackson 
conceived  the  happy  idea  of  covering  the  intrenchments  with  a  great 
number  of  cotton  bales.  In  this  favorable  position,  he  resolutely  de- 
fied every  attack  of  the  enemy. 

Towards  the  last  days  of  December,  of  the  year  1814,  the  English, 
under  the  cover  of  their  batteries,  made  several  attempts  to  carry 
by  storm  the  fortifications  before  them ;  but  they  were  invariably  re- 
pulsed by  the  superior  fire  of  the  American  artillery.  The  final  attack 
on  the  main  works,  was  reserved  for  the  eighth  of  January  following. 
It  lasted  about  one  hour  and  a  half,  during  which  the  valor  of  the 
assailants  only  served  to  expose  them  without  adequate  defence  to 
the  incessant  and  destructive  fire  from  the  cannons  and  musketry  of 
the  besieged;  while  the  breast- works  of  cotton-bales,  which  no  ball 
could  penetrate,  afforded  complete  protection  to  their  opponents.  The 
British  were  obliged  to  retire  from  the  sanguinary  conflict  with  the 
loss  of  two  thousand  six  hundred  men,  wounded,  captured  or  slain, 


A.  D.  1815-1844.  GENERAL  VIEW;  ETC.  465 

including  their  general  Packenham  and  their  chief  officers ;  whilst 
the  victorious  Americans  had  not  lost,  in  this  decisive  action,  more 
tnan  six  killed  and  seven  wounded. 

The  news  of  this  important  victory  filled  the  whole  country  with 
exultation,  and  was  the  closing  event  of  the  second  American  war. 
Shortly  after,  intelligence  was  received  from  Europe  of  the  peace 
concluded  by  the  American  and  English  commissioners  assembled 
at  Ghent  for  that  purpose.  The  treaty,  already  signed  by  the  court 
of  England,  was  ratified  by  the  President  and  Senate  of  the  United 
States  in  February  (A.  D.  1815);  and  thus,  in  the  same  year,  with 
the  interval  of  a  few  months,  peace  was  reestablished  in  America  by 
the  treaty  of  Ghent,  and  in  Europe  by  the  second  fall  of  Bonaparte. 


GENERAL  VIEW  OF  THE  CIVILIZED  WORLD, 

FROM  THE  YEAR  1815,  TO  THE  YEAR  1844. 

CONCLUSION. 


SINCE  the  eventful  period  of  the  battles  of  New  Orleans  and  Wa- 
terloo, most  of  the  civilized  nations  of  the  world  have  been  in  a  state 
of  comparative  tranquillity.  Fortunately  for  the  rising  generation, 
neither  sovereigns  nor  their  subjects  seem  inclined  to  indulge  any 
longer  that  fatal  ardor  for  military  glory,  which  characterized  the  pre- 
ceding epochs.  The  leading  powers,  whether  in  America  or  Europe, 
appear  generally  desirous  to  enjoy  in  repose  the  laurels  which  their 
respective  countries  formerly  won  in  the  field,  and  to  contend  for  the 
palm  of  national  preeminence  only  by  the  arts  of  peaceful  and  pros- 
perous industry. 

To  Great  Britain,  above  all,  belongs  the  honor  of  having  arrested 
the  course  of  the  French  revolutionary  armies  and  of  Napoleon's 
ambitious  career.  Notwithstanding  the  heavy  taxes  laid  on  her  citi- 
zens, and  the  prodigious  amount  of  her  national  debt,  which  is  about 
four  billions  of  dollars,  she  seems  to  have  attained  the  height  of 
power  and  political  influence,  chiefly  by  the  superiority  of  her  naval 
force.  In  late  years,  the  world  has  beheld  her  successful  exertions 
in  protecting  the  independence  of  Greece  against  the  Turks,  and  the 
Turks  themselves  against  the  encroachments  of  the  new  Egyptian 
dynasty;  defending  her  immense  possessions  in  the  East  and  West; 
chastising  the  pirates  of  the  Mediterranean;  attacking  the  Chinese, 
and  compelling  them  to  conclude  a  disadvantageous  peace,  etc. 


4G6  MODERN    HISTORY.  Part  VI1L 

Among  the  transactions  of  her  civil  government  in  the  same  period, 
the  most  remarkable  is  the  act  of  emancipation  from  civil  disabilities 
and  persecuting  laws,  granted  to  her  Catholic  subjects  in  1829;  au 
example  of  moderation  and  justice  highly  worthy  of  a  generous 
nation,  yet  little  valued,  and  still  less  imitated  by  the  late  king  of 
Prussia,  Frederic  William  III,  and  much  less  yet  by  the  Russian 
autocrat  Nicholas,  actually  reigning.* 

Like  Great  Britain,  France  has  continued,  after  so  many  agitations 
and  storms,  to  occupy  that  high  national  rank  which  her  advantage- 
ous position,  her  vast  resources  of  soil  and  industry,  and  the  lofty 
spirit  of  her  people  call  her  to  hold  among  the  chief  European  powers. 
Neither  the  clashing  of  parties,  nor  the  substitution  of  the  Orleans  in 
me  place  of  the  Bourbon  dynasty,  has  prevented  her  from  securing 
additional  lustre  to  the  glory  of  her  arms.  Not  only  d'id  she  amply 
share  with  England  and  Russia  in  the  victory  gained  at  Navarino  over 
the  Turks;  but  the  successful  expedition  of  Spain  under  Louis  XVIII, 
(he  still  more  brilliant  conquest  of  Algiers  under  Charles  X,  the  siege 
of  Antwerp  and  the  capture  of  Vera  Cruz-under  Louis  Philip,  have 
again  shown  to.  the  world,  what,  even  after  the  disasters  of  Napo- 
leon's last  campaigns,  can  be  effected  by  French  valor,  skill  and  dis- 
cipline. The  last  named  sovereign  has  long  occupied  the  throne, 
and,  notwithstanding  a  thousand  difficulties,  held  the  reins  of  go- 
vernment with  such  firmness  and  prudence  as  to  attract  the  admi- 
ration even  of  his  enemies.  Yet,  all  his  talents  and  skill  have  not 
been  able  to  reconcile  together  the  different  political  parties  into 
which  the  French  people  are  divided,  nor  save  his  own  government 
from  a  strong  opposition  that  threatened  a  new  revolution  in  Franco. 
(See  the  next  APPENDIX.) 

Austria,  Russia  and  Prussia,  which  formerly  suffered  most  from 
the  wars  of  Bonaparte,  have  not  only  repaired  their  losses,  but  even 
acquired,  in  the  final  settlement  of  their  claims,  a  greater  extent  ol 
territory.  Among  the  chief  European  states,  Spain  has  been,  and 
is  still  the  most  unfortunate.  In  consequence  of  the  impolitic  mea- 
sures of  King  Ferdinand  VII,  and  a  variety  of  other  causes,  factions 
and  civil  wars  have  continued,  almost  without  interruption,  during 
the  last  twenty  years,  to  desolate  that  noble  country,  the  land  of  chi 
valry  and  heroism.  Spain,  formerly  so  much  celebrated  for  her 
national  and  political  strength,  so  long  placed  at  the  head  of  Euro- 
pean civilization,  has  been  of  late  plunged  in  an  abyss  of  confusion 
and  calamities,  the  end  of  which  would  still  appear  very  improbable, 
were  it  not  for  the  providential  and  recent  downfall  of  the  tyran- 
nical regent  Espartero  (A.  D.  1843). 

*  See  note  P. 


A.  D.  1815-1844.  GENERAL  VIEW;  ETC.  467 

Nor  is  this  deplorable  train  of  internal  evils  the  only  misfortune 
that  has  befallen  the  Spaniards  during  the  present  century.  All  their 
ancient  dominions  in  the  New  World,  except  Cuba  and  Porto  Rico, 
have  of  late  thrown  off  their  allegiance  to  the  mother  country,  and 
formed  themselves  into  independent  governments,  viz.  Buenos  Ayres, 
in  1816;  Chili,  1818;  Peru  and  Bolivia,  1821-1824;  Colombia, 
towards  1820,  divided  into  three  separate  states  in  1831;  Guatimala 
and  Mexico,  1820-1824.  All  these  regions  have  become  so  many 
confederacies  or  republics  from  which  others  have  successively  sprung 
up,  such  as  Texas,  in  1836,  by  its  total  separation  from  Mexico. 
But  in  none  of  them,  perhaps,  is  the  government  as  yet  fairly  settled; 
nor  do  they  assume  any  flourishing  and  powerful  aspect,  approaching 
in  the  least  to  that  of  the  United  North  American  States. 

Here,  notwithstanding  some  embarrassments  which  have  occa- 
sionally taken  place  in  the  finances,  the  country  has  been  constantly 
advancing  in  population  and  importance.  The  number  of  its  inha- 
bitants is  five  times  greater  than  it  was  sixty  years  since,  at  the  close 
or  the  war  of  independence.  Several  new  states  have  been  added  to 
the  Union,  whils^  their  neighbors,  the  Texians,  have  just  lately  made 
known  their  desire  of  being  also  annexed  to  it;  agriculture  and 
manufactures  are  prosperous ;  foreign  commerce  is  carried  on  upon 
an  extensive  scale;  and  there  exists,  moreover,  an  immense  inland 
trade,  by  means  of  the  numerous  navigable  streams,  canals  and  rail- 
roads by  which  the  country  is  intersected.  All  these  advantages, 
with  the  extent  and  resources  of  the  land,  the  wisdom  hitherto  dis- 
played by  its  chief  rulers,  and  the  active,  industrious,  and  enterprising 
spirit  of  the  people,  leave  little  room  to  doubt,  that  the  United  States 
are  destined  to  possess  a  considerable  share  of  influence  in  the  future 
destinies  of  the  civilized  world.  (See  Appendix,  p.  4G9.) 

But  let  us  always  remember,  as  Bossuet  observes,*  that  this  con- 
nexion of  particular  causes  which  destroy  empires  and  establish 
others  in  their  place,  depends  upon  the  secret  orders  of  Divine  Pro- 
vidence. God,  from  the  highest  heavens,  holds  the  reins  of  all  the 
kingdoms  of  the  earth  in  his  hands.  When  he  wishes  to  make  con- 
querors, he  causes  terror  to  march  before  them,  and  inspires  them 
and  their  soldiers  with  invincible  courage;  when  he  intends  to  make 
lawgivers,  he  sends  to  them  his  spirit  of  wisdom  and  foresight,  ena- 
bling them  to  prevent  the  evils  that  threaten  states,  and  to  lay  the 
foundation  of  public  tranquillity.  It  is  thus  that  God  reigns  over  all 
nations,  according  to  the  rules  of  his  ever  unerring  justice. 

Let  us  speak  no  more  of  chance  nor  of  fortune,  or  speak  of  them 
cnly  as  of  names  with  which  we  cover  our  ignorance.  What  is  chance 

*  Discourse  on  Univers.  Hist,  part  in,  last  chap. 


468  MODERN  HISTORY. 


Part  VIIL 


to  our  uncertain  views,  is  a  concerted  design  in  a  higher  counsel,  that 
is,  in  that  eternal  counsel  which  comprises  all  causes  and  effects  in 
one  and  the  same  order.  Thus  is  verified  the  saying  of  the  Apostle, 
that,  God  is  the  Blessed  and  only  Mighty,  the  King  of  kings,  and  Lord 
of  ton/3  (1  Tim.  vi.  15).  Blessed,  whose  peace  is  unalterable,  who 
sees  every  thing  change,  without  himself  changing,  and  who  effects 
all  changes  by  an  immutable  counsel  •  who  gives  and  takes  away 
power;  who  transfers  it  from  one  individual  to  another,  from  one 
dynasty  to  another,  from  one  people  to  another,  to  show  that  they  all 
hold  it  by  a  precarious  tenure,  and  that  in  Him  alone  it  essentially 
resides. 

Thus  we  have  beheld  the  series  of  great  empires  and  states  which 
have  figured  on  the  theatre  of  the  world  during  eighteen  centuries. 
While  we  see  them  successively  appear  and  disappear,  some  falling, 
as  it  were,  of  themselves,  and  others  rising  in  their  place,  while  the 
Religion  of  Christ,  in  the  midst  of  these  vicissitudes,  invariably  main- 
tains her  strength  and  dignity;  we  may  easily  understand  where  solid 
greatness  exists,  and  where  a  prudent  man  should  place  his  hopes 
and  all  his  affections. 


APPENDIX. 


SINCE  the  last  lines  of  this  history  were  written,  events  of  consi- 
derable importance  and  magnitude  have  transpired  in  different  parts 
of  the  world.  On  this  side  of  the  Atlantic,  the  annexation  of  Texas 
to  the  American  Union,  and  a  subsequent  war  against  Mexico,  have 
added  and  secured  an  immense  territory  to  the  government  of  the 
United  States.  On  the  other  side,  nearly  the  whole  continent  of 
Europe  has  been  shaken  by  a  long  series  of  political  storms.  Events 
of  this  description  cannot  be  properly  omitted,  and  seem  to  require 
a  few  additional  pages  for  the  completion  of  Modern  History. 


ANNEXATION   OF   TEXAS.— MEXICAN   WAR   AND  ITS 
CONSEQUENCES.— A.  D.  1845—1848. 

THE  proposed  annexation  of  Texas  to  the  United  States  had,  for 
several  years,  met  with  little  encouragement  on  the  part  of  the 
cabinet  at  Washington.  The  scheme,  however,  began  to  be  actively 
pursued  during  the  latter  part  of  Mr.  Tyler's  presidency ;  yet,  on 
account  of  new  difficulties,  it  was  not  carried  into  effect  till  1845, 
the  first  year  of  President  Folk's  administration.  During  the  course 
of  that  year,  the  terms  of  annexation  were  settled  by  both  parties, 
and  Texas  was  declared  a  State  of  the  American  Union.  In  virtue 
of  this  agreement,  the  Texans  immediately  requested  Mr.  Polk  to 
occupy  the  principal  stations  of  their  country,  and  to  send  an  army 
for  its  defence. 

This  momentous  transaction,  irrevocably  depriving  the  Mexicans 
of  a  vast  territory,  was  not  concluded  without  loud  protests  on  their 
part ;  they  naturallv  complained  of  it,  through  their  ministers  and 
ambassadors,  as  an  infringement  of  their  rights.  They  appealed  to 
the  treaty  of  friendship  existing  between  the  two  nations,  and 
openly  denounced  the  annexation  of  Texas,  and  its  occupation  by 
an  American  force,  as  a  violation  of  that  treaty.  So  strong,  indeed, 
was  this  feeling  among  them,  that  their  executive,  under  President 
Herrera,  having  betrayed  a  disposition  to  settle  their  differences 
with  the  American  government  in  a  peaceful  manner,  were  suddenly 
overthrown,  to  make  room  for  the  presidency  of  General  Paredes. 
Troops  were  assembled  and  stationed  at  the  frontier,  to  the  number 
of  about  eight  thousand,  under  the  command  of  General  Arista. 

The  Americans,  on  their  side,  had  taken  a  similar  step,  and  their 
troops  had  already  advanced  to  occupy  the  disputed  territory.  The 
40 


470  MODERN   niSlORY.  Partvni 

first  action  that  took  place  between  the  hostile  parties,  was  a  private 
encounter,  in  which  the  Americans  lost  sixty-three  dragoons,  killed, 
wounded,  or  prisoners.  A  few  days  later,  a  body  of  Texans  Avas 
also  surprised  in  their  camp,  and  several  were  slain  or  wounded. 
These  beginnings  seemed  very  inauspicious  to  the  American  cause ; 
but  things  wore  a  quite  different  aspect  when  General  Taylor,  being 
appointed  commander-in-chief  for  that  distant  theatre  of  the  war, 
appeared  in  person  on  the  field,  and  was  enabled  to  fight  regular 
battles. 

This  able  leader  having,  after  his  arrival  in  the  Texan  territory, 
been  stationed  successively  in  various  places,  finally  took  up  his 
position  near  the  Rio  Grande  (also  called  Rio  Bravo  del  Norte), 
within  cannon-shot  of  the  city  of  Matamoras.  He  had  not  however 
completed  his  intrenchments,  when  he  was  informed  that  Point 
Isabel,  where  he  had  left  a  large  supply  of  provisions  and  ammuni- 
tion, was  seriously  threatened  by  the  Mexicans.  With  the  main 
part  of  his  army,  he  quickly  retraced  his  steps  towards  that  import- 
ant point,  to  prevent  it  from  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy. 
Having  attained  his  object,  and  garrisoned  the  place  with  new 
troops,  he  again  set  out  for  Matamoras,  and,  on  the  second  day  of 
his  march  (8th  of  May,  1846),  discovered  near  Palo  Alto  the  Mexi- 
can forces  drawn  up  in  battle-array,  and  waiting  for  his  approach. 
Although  his  force  did  not  exceed  two  thousand  three  hundred  men, 
whilst  that  of  the  Mexicans  amounted,  it  is  believetl,  to  nearly  seven 
thousand,  he  did  not  decline  the  combat.  On  the  side  of  the 
Americans,  it  was  carried  on  chiefly  by  artillery,  and  such  was  the 
superiority  of  their  fire  that,  after  an  action  of  about  five  hours,  the 
enemy's  columns  were  disordered  and  driven  back  from  their  posi- 
tion.* General  Arista  retreated  during  the  night,  and  occupied  a 
new  and  favorable  position  at  Resaca  de  la  Palma,  a  few  miles 
distant  from  Palo  Alto.  On  the  following  day,  as  the  two  hostile 
armies  met  again,  another  engagement  immediately  ensued. 

The  Mexican  artillery  commenced  the  action,  and  was  so  well 
managed  that  its  effects  were  quite  severe  on  the  American  lines. 
It  became  necessary  to  dislodge  the  enemy  from  the  ground  which 
they  occupied ;  this  was  done  by  a  succession  of  skilful  movements 
and  vigorous  charges.  Their  artillery  were  dispersed ;  La  Vega, 
one  of  their  best  generals,  was  made  prisoner;  and  their  columns, 
row  broken  on  all  sides,  were  no  longer  able  to  bear  the  well- 
directed  fire  continually  poured  upon  them  by  the  American  mus- 
ketry and  artillery.  They  fled  from  the  field  with  great  precipitation, 
and  being  warmly  pursued,  continued  their  flight  till  they  placed 
the  Rio  Grande  between  themselves  and  their  conquerors.  No 
cowardice,  however,  no  feebleness  should  be  imputed  to  them.  They 
had  behaved  and  fought  well,  and  they  were  defeated  only  because, 
in  the  natural  course  of  events,  mere  courage  must  yield  to  at  least 
equal  valor  aided  by  superior  bodily  strength,  military  skill,  science 
and  discipline. 

"  In  these  engagements,"  says  a  well-informed  historian,  "  the 
*  Report  of  General  Taylor,  dated  May  9th,  1846. 


A  D.  1845-1848.  MEXICAN  WAR,   ETC.  471 

commander  ef  the  American  forces,  General  Zachary  Taylor,  dis- 
played the  utmost  coolness  and  bravery — exposing  himself  in  the 
most  dangerous  positions,  and  encouraging  his  troops  by  his  heroic 
example.  After  the  battles  were  ended,  his  attention  to  the  wounded 
and  the  dying,  whether  friend  or  foe,  evinced  that  sympathy  for 
suffering  humanity,  which  is  ever  inseparable  from  true  courage."* 
To  this  merited  praise,  we  must  add  that  General  Taylor,  in  hii 
reports  of  the  campaign,  evinced  not  less  modesty  in  speaking  of 
himself,  than  sincerity  in  extolling  the  bravery  of  his  officers  and 
soldiers . 

During  these  operations'  of  the  main  body  of  the  army,  a  de- 
tachment previously  left  for  the  defence  of  the  field-work  opposite 
to  Matamoras,  equally  signalized  themselves  by  their  gallant  beha- 
vior. They  lost,  it  is  true,  their  intrepid  commander,  Major 
Brown;  yet  they  successfully  sustained  a  severe  cannonade  and 
bombardment  which  continued  one  hundred  and  sixty-eight  hours, 
till  at  length  the  fort,  was  relieved,  and  the  siege  raised,  by  the 
arrival  of  Taylor's  army  immediately  after  the  victories  of  Palo  Alto 
and  Resaca  de  la  Palma. 

So  much  success  obtained  within  so  short  a  time  inspired  the 
Americans  not  only  with  great  joy  and  confidence,  but  also  with  a 
violent  thirst  for  new  conquests.  No  longer  satisfied  with  the  pos 
session  of  Texas,  they  now  prepared  to  penetrate  into  the  heart  of 
the  Mexican  territory,  particularly  as  valuable  reinforcements  had 
been  received,  and  the  effective  troops,  independently  of  garrisons 
left  in  some  places,  amounted  to  nearly  seven  thousand  men,  full  of 
hope  and  courage.  They,  therefore,  were  made  to  advance  in  thre« 
divisions  towards  the  south,  and  on  the  19th  of  September,  they 
arrived  in  sight  of  Monterey  (the  capital  of  New  Leon),  having 
met  during  their  march  no  resistance  except  from  skirmishing 
parties  of  Mexican  cavalry. 

Monterey  is  described  by  historians  as  an  important  place,  well 
fortified  both  by  nature  and  art.  The  garrison,  under  the  command 
of  Pedro  Ampudia,  consisted,  it  is  said,  of  about  seven  thousand 
regular  -troops,  and  two  or  three  thousand  irregulars,  being  con- 
sequently more  numerous  than  the  whole  besieging  army.  Not- 
withstanding these  weighty  obstacles,  General  Taylor  thought  it 
possible  to  carry  the  city  by  storm,  with  the  artillery  and  the 
bayonet.  His  hopes  were  realized. 

The  attack  began  on  the  20th  of  September,  and  notwithstanding 
all  the  difficulties  of  a  fearful  struggle,  was  renewed  during  three 
successive  days.  The  besiegers  were  occasionally  repulsed  on  some 
points ;  yet  many  of  their  corps  gained  ground,  till  at  length,  by  dint 
of  efforts  and  courage,  they  succeeded  not  only  in  carrying  the  out- 
ward posts  and  fortifications,  but  even  in  occupying  several  parts 
of  the  city. 

As  the  Mexicans,  however,  had  offered  a  brave  resistance,  and 
their  artillery  in  particular  had  played  with  terrible  effect  on  the 
Americans,  the  final  success  of  the  latter  was  not  obtained  without 
*  Mansfield,  Mexican  Wart  ch.  ii.  pp.  38,  39. 


472  MODERN  HISTORY.  Part  VIIL 

considerable  loss.  The  attack  of  the  citadel,  if  attempted,  threatened 
to  cost  them  the  lives  of  many  other  brave  soldiers.  This  conside- 
ration, added  to  other  cogent  reasons,  induced  the  commander-in- 
chief  to  lend  a  willing  ear  to  the  proposals  made,  on  the  24th  of 
September,  by  General  Ampudia.  This  officer  offered  to  surrender 
both  the  remainder  of  the  town  and  the  citadel,  on  condition  of  a 
favorable  and  honorable  capitulation;  the  desired  terms  were 
granted,  and  the  Mexican  troops  withdrew  from  the  place  with  al] 
the  honors  of  war. 

The  surrender  of  Monterey  opened  a  large  field  to  the  enterpris- 
ing spirit  of  the  Americans ;  within  the  space  of  only  three  months 
after  that  event,  they  subdued  a  vast  extent  of  country,  and  occupied 
the  important  places  of  Saltillo,  Tampico,  and  Victoria.  Nor  was  the 
work  of  conquest  carried  on  merely  in  this  portion  of  the  Mexican 
republic.  Other  expeditions  had,  in  the  interim,  been  set  on  foot  by 
the  cabinet  at  Washington,  for  the  purpose  of  detaching  from  the 
central  government  of  Mexico  its  northern  and  north-western  pro- 
vinces. These  expeditions  were  placed  under  the  command  of 
General  Wool,  on  the  one  hand,  and,  on  the  other,  of  General  Kear- 
ny,  assisted  by  the  intrepid  Colonel  Doniphan.  They  did  not,  at 
the  time,  procure  any  material  advantage,  yet  they  also  contributed 
to  show  forth  the  extent  of  American  energy  and  valor,  and  subdued 
a  very  considerable,  though  almost  uninhabited,  territory. 

About  the  same  time,  and  even  before  the  events  just  related, 
similar  exploits  took  place  in  California.  These  were  achieved  by 
Captain  Fremont,  an  officer  equally  distinguished  for  bold  enterprise 
and  scientific  attainments.  With  less  than  two  hundred  riflemen, 
he  defeated  and  drove  before  him  all  the  Mexican  parties  on  his 
way,  and  being  reinforced  by  Commodore  Stockton,  entered  the 
Californian  capital  in  the  month  of  August,  1846.  Thus  was  com- 
pleted in  a  short  campaign,  and  almost  without  bloodshed,  the  con- 
quest of  California. 

However  surprising  these  exploits,  still  greater  and  more  impor- 
tant achievements  continued  to  be  performed  by  General  Taylor. 
He  was  now  far  advanced  in  his  march  across  the  Mexican  terri- 
tory, when  he  received  information  of  the  approach  of  a  hostile 
force,  amounting  to  at  least  twenty  thousand  men.  To  this  great 
number  the  American  general  could  hardly  oppose  five  thousand 
soldiers,  as  his  army  had  been  reduced  by  the  necessity  in  which  he 
was  of  sending  a  very  considerable  portion  of  his  forces  to  fight 
under  General  Scott,  in  another  seat  of  the  war ;  but,  as  a  sort  of 
compensation  for  this  great  disparity,  he  possessed  brave  and  skilful 
officers,  an  excellent  artillery,  and  a  formidable  position,  purposely 
selected  by  himself,  on  the  heights  of  Buena  Vista. 

The  two  armies  were  in  sight  of  each  other  on  the  22d  of  Feb- 
ruary, 1847.  The  celebrated  leader,  Santa  Anna,  then  at  the  head 
of  the  Mexican  forces,  was  so  confident  of  victory,  that,  before  com- 
mencing the  attack,  he  sent  a  message  to  General  Taylor,  summoning 
him  to  surrender  at  discretion.  Of  course  no  satisfactory  answer  waa 
returned,  and  the  conflict  began  on  the  same  day,  too  late  however  in 


A.D.  1845-1848.  MEXICAN  WAR,  ETC.  473 

the  evening,  to" produce  any  serious  effect;  the  decisive  action  was 
reserved  for  the  following  day,  the  23d,  a  day  for  ever  memorable 
in  the  annals  of  American  warfare. 

The  battle  lasted  from  seven  in  the  morning  to  six  in  the  evening, 
a  circumstance  which  alone  might  suffice  to  show  how  warmly  it 
was  contested.  At  two  different  parts  of  the  day,  the  Mexicans,  by 
their  superior  numbers,  their  bravery,  and  the  judicious  plan  of 
their  commander-in-chiof,  obtained  a  considerable,  although  only 
partial  and  transient  advantage.  Marching  on  to  the  attack  with 
determined  vigor,  they  for  a  time  outflanked  the  left  and  even  the 
rear  of  their  opponents,  forced  some  regiments  to  fall  back  with 
great  loss  and  disorder,  and,  occupying  their  position,  placed  the 
whole  American  army  in  imminent  peril.  But,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  heroic  calmness  of  General  Taylor,  the  precision  of  his  orders, 
their  prompt  execution,  the  steady  fire  of  his  artillery,  which  pro- 
duced dreadful  havoc  among  the  dense  masses  of  the  assailants,  and 
the  stern  intrepidity  of  a  large  number  of  his  troops,  at  length  won 
the  4ay,  and  enabled  him  to  remain  in  possession  of  the  field.* 

The  Mexicans,  thus  foiled  in  their  attempt  to  carry  the  American 
position,  retreated  during  the  night,  having  lost,  even  according  to 
Santa  Anna's  account,  more  than  fifteen  hundred  men  killed  and 
wounded,  whilst  the  remainder,  exposed  to  painful  privations  and 
given  up  to  despondency,  scattered  themselves  in  different  directions, 
either  following  their  officers,  or  altogether  abandoning  their  stand- 
ards. Hence  the  issue  of  the  battle  of  Buena  Vista  was  of  immense 
advantage  to  the  Americans ;  it  left  them  absolute  masters  of  the 
field,  secured  for  them  the  frontier  of  the  Rio  Grande,  and  whiJst 
it  crowned  their  exploits  on  that  side,  spread  terror  and  dismay 
through  the  Mexican  nation. 

The  chief  operations  of  war,  by  orders  from  the  American  govern- 
ment, were  now  to  be  carried  on  in  another  part  of  the  country. 
About  this  time,  General  Scott,  who  had  hitherto  been  actively  en- 
gaged in  making  the  necessary  arrangements  for  the  troops,  arrived 
from  Washington  to  take  in  person  a  still  more  active  share  in  the 
prosecution  of  hostilities.  He  was  not  to  supersede  General  Taylor 
in  his  particular  plan  of  operations ;  yet,  he  had  been  appointed  to 
act  as  commander-in-chief,  and  to  have  the  conduct  of  the  main 
expedition  against  Mexico. 

General  Scott  reached  by  sea  the  frontiers  of  the  Mexican  repub- 

*  The  Mexican  general,  in  his  report  of  the  battle  of  Buena  Vista,  repeat- 
edly intimates  that  victory  had  been  on  his  side ;  but  these  expressions  cannot 
be  understood  to  mean  any  thing  else  than  the  momentary  successes  which  he 
obtained  at  different  parts  of  the  day.  From  his  own  account,  the  ultimate 
result  was  certainly  against  him.  Independently  of  the  disappointment  and 
discontent  which  characterize  his  letter,  and  bespeak  the  vanquished  rather 
than  the  victorious  general,  Santa  Anna  candidly  admits,  1st,  that  he  could  not, 
as  he  intended,  drive  the  Americans  from  their  last  intrenchment,  and  2d, 
that  no  later  than  the  ensuing  night,  he  was  compelled  by  circumstances  to 
withdraw  from  the  field  of  battle.  Does  not  this  amount  to  an  implicit 
acknowledgment  of  failure  on  his  part,  and  ultimate  success  to  the 
Americans  ? 
40* 


474  MODERN   HISTORY.  rartviiL 

lie.  Having  collected  twelve  thousand  men,  and  being  provided 
with  every  thing  necessary  for  a  siege,  he  landed  them  without  any 
loss,  at  a  short  distance  from  Vera  Cruz.  The  bombardment  of  this 
city  began  on  the  22d  of  March,  1847,  and  was  continued  during 
four  days  in  succession,  with  awful  activity  and  terrible  effect.  All 
that  time,  the  defence  of  the  Mexicans  was  spirited  and  obstinate ; 
but  after  the  26th,  at  the  sight  of  the  immense  havoc  that  had  been 
already  produced  among  their  people,  they  at  length,  in  order  to 
avoid  entire  destruction,  resolved  to  surrender.  Two  days  later, 
the  articles  of  capitulation  were  signed.  Full  protection  was  secured 
to  the  inhabitants ;  the  honors  of  war  were  granted  to  the  garrison : 
the  Mexican  troops,  under  these  terms,  evacuated  the  place,  and  the 
American  flag  waved  over  the  city  of  Vera  Cruz  and  its  renowned 
fortress,  the  Castle  of  San  Juan  d'Ulloa. 

As  soon  as  the  necessary  preparation  could  be  made,  the  victori- 
ous army  advanced  into  the  Mexican  territory,  in  the  direction  of 
Jalapa ;  but,  before  they  reached  this  place,  a  new  and  formidable 
obstacle  presented  itself.  It  was  necessary  to  cross  a  ridge  of  high 
mountains,  and  the  almost  impregnable  heights  of  Cerro  Gordo, 
fortified  both  by  nature  and  art.  Here  again  stood  Santa  Anna, 
ready  to  oppose  their  passage.  After  his  repulse  at" Buena  Vista, 
this  general  had  rapidly  traversed  the  central  provinces  with  a  con- 
siderable portion  of  his  troops,  and  now,  at  the  head  of  fifteen 
thousand  men,  sought  to  defend  a  position  naturally  so  strong,  with 
batteries  and  intrenchments. 

It  seemed  rashness  to  assault  a  position  pf  this  kind ;  yet  sc 
urgent  was  the  necessity  of  an  attempt,  and  so  great  the  confidence 
of  General  Scott  in  the  valor  of  his  troops,  that  the  attack  was 
resolved  upon  for  the  18th  of  April.  The  orders  to  the  several 
bodies  of  the  army,  and  the  indications  of  their  intended  move- 
ments, were  given  with  almost  prophetic  exactness  ;  and  the  execu- 
tion on  the  part  of  the  officers  and  soldiers  was  equally  admirable. 
Those  in  front  were,  it  is  true,  compelled,  after  bravely  fighting,  to 
withdraw  before-  the  Mexican  batteries ;  yet  their  gallant  effort  was 
not  altogether  lost,  as  it  occupied  the  enemy's  attention  on  that 
side.  Those  in  flank,  although  likewise  exposed  to  a  murderous  fire 
of  artillery  and  musketry,  ascended  the  long  and  difficult  slope  of 
Cerro  Gordo  with  the  utmost  steadiness,  reached  the  breastworks 
of  that  fortress,  drove  the  Mexicans  from  them,  planted  their 
colors,  and  after  some  minutes  more  of  sharp  firing,  finished  the 
conquest  with  the  bayonet. 

This  memorable  action  cost  the  Americans  about  two  hundred 
and  fifty  men  killed  or  wounded,  among  whom  were  several  officers 
of  distinction.  In  return  for  this  loss,  they  had  obtained  a  com- 
plete triumph ;  and  so  great  a  quantity  of  large  guns,  stands  of 
arms  and  ammunition,  fell  into  their  hands,  that  they  were  really 
embarrassed  with  the  results  of  victory.  The  Mexicans,  besides, 
had  a  great  number  of  slain  and  wounded,  independently  of  three 
thousand  men  that  were  made  prisoners,  together  with  five  of  their 
generals.  The  rest  of  their  troops,  eight  thousand  in  number, 


A. D.  1845-1848.  MEXICAN  WAR,  ETC.  475 

always  under  the  command  of  Santa  Anna,  fled  with  precipitation 
from  the  scene  of  havoc,  in  the  direction  of  Jalapa. 

The  principal  effect  of  the  battle  and  capture  of  Cerro  Gordo, 
very  similar  to  that  which  followed  the  capture  of  Monterey,  was 
to  open  for  the  Americans  a  free  road  towards  the  Mexican  capital. 
They  for  some  weeks  advanced  into  the  country  with  little  or  no 
opposition,  taking  possession,  as  they  went  on,  of  all  the  castles  and 
towns  in  their  way,  among  others  of  the  ancient  and  populous  city 
of  Puebla,  situated  nearly  midway  between  Vera  Cruz  and  Mexico. 
That  city  was  entered  towards  the  middle  of  May,  1847,  by  the  first 
division  of  the  army,  under  General  Worth — a  brave  and  skilful 
officer,  who,  after  having  greatly  distinguished  himself  under 
General  Taylor,  continued  to  render  signal  services  under  General 
Scott. 

Thus,  within  the  short  space  of  two  months,  the  city  of  Vera 
Cruz  had  been  compelled  to  surrender ;  the  famed  Castle  of  San 
Juan  d'Ulloa  was  also  taken ;  the  almost  impregnable  tower  of 
Cerro  Gordo  was  carried  by  storm ;  the  town  of  Jalapa  entered ; 
the  strong  fortress  of  Perote  captured,  and  Puebla  occupied.  Ten 
thousand  Mexicans  made  prisoners  of  war,  and  a  vast  amount  of 
ammunition;  splendid  cannon  and  stands  of  arms,  were  the  spoils 
of  the  victories  won  by  the  American  troops  in  a  campaign  of  only 
eight  or  nine  weeks.  History  presents  but  few  instances  of  achieve- 
ments at  the  same  time  so  brilliant  and  so  rapid. 

But  the  American  army  itself  had  undergone  severe  losses,  and 
its  numbers  were  greatly  reduced,  not  only  by  death  on  the  field  of 
battle,  but  also  by  fatigue,  disease,  or  desertion,  and  by  the  depar- 
ture of  several  corps,  after  one  year  of  service.  This  obliged 
General  Scott  to  reside  for  some  months  in  the  city  of  Puebla,  in 
expectation  of  new  reinforcements.  When  these  arrived,  and  his 
army  was  again  placed  on  a  respectable  footing,  he  resumed  his 
inarch  towards  Mexico  ;  on  the  18th  of  August,  his  forces,  amount- 
ing to  about  ten  thousand  men,  were  concentrated  near  San  Augus- 
tine, nine  miles  south  of  that  capital. 

On  the  20th  of  August,  the  Americans  attacked  all  the  fortified 
posts  occupied  by  the  enemy  in  their  neighborhood,  and  notwith- 
standing the  intrenchments,  and  the  numerical  superiority  of  the 
Mexicans,  carried  them  all  with  the  sword  and  the  bayonet.  The 
well-contested  battle  of  Churubusco,  fought  in  the  evening  of  the 
same  memorable  day,  completed  the  success  of  the  previous  partial 
actions.  It  lasted  three  hours,  with  terrible  and  incessant  dis- 
charges of  musketry  and  artillery  from  both  sides.  At  last  the 
Americans  conquered,  and  the  Mexicans  were  defeated  in  every 
part  of  the  field,  with  the  loss  of  several  thousand  men  killed, 
wounded,  or  prisoners. 

To  prevent  further  effusion  of  blood,  a  temporary  negotiation  was 
opened;  but  as  this  also  failed,  General  Scott  thought  it  his  duty  to 
recommence  hostilities  as  soon  as  the  truce  expired.  Nevertheless, 
the  bloody  scenes  of  war  were  now  drawing  to  a  close.  In  spite 
of  new  dangers,  occasioned  both  by  the  nature  of  tne  ground  and 


476  MODERN   HISTORY.  FartviiL 

by  various  fortifications  in  the  neighborhood  and  at  the  entrance 
of  Mexico,  the  American  troops  made  their  advance  with  but  little 
interruption.  This  indeed  required  of  them  many  strenuous  efforts, 
and  cost  the  lives  of  many  brave  officers  and  soldiers,  especially  in 
the  storming  of  the  formidable  defences  of  Chapultepec,  Molino  del 
Hey  and  Casa  de  Mata;  yet  every  obstacle  yielded  to  their  un- 
daunted energy,  and  a  series  of  well-directed  and  successful  attacks, 
during  the  space  of  forty-eight  hours,  at  last  made  them  masters 
of  the  great  Mexican  capital  (September,  1847*). 

The  Mexicans  had,  up  to  this  moment,  entertained  the  hope  of 
driving  the  American  forces  from  their  territory.  This  hope  must 
now  have  vanished  before  the  stern  evidence  of  facts.  The  federal 
government  and  General  Santa  Anna  fled;  a  deputation  of  the  city 
council  was  sent  to  the  American  leader,  and  negotiations  were 
organized  to  treat  of  peace.  The  terms,  being  settled  between  the 
commissioners  of  each  party,  were  forwarded  to  the  government  at 
Washington,  and  here  they  underwent  some  alterations  and  amend- 
ments, to  which  the  Mexican  congress  acceded  without  much  diffi- 
culty. After  the  ratification  had  taken  place  on  their  part,  "  the 
American  commissioners  officially  informed  the  secretary  of  state 
that  the  treaty  was  complete,  and  on  the  19th  of  June,  1848,  two 
years  and  two  months  from  the  commencement  of  the  war,  the 
American  people  were  formally  notified  that  there  was  peace  be- 
tween Mexico  and  the  United  States."f 

The  war  had  cost  the  lives  of  nearly  twenty  thousand  Ameri- 
cans, who  either  fell  in  battle,  or  died  of  excessive  fatigue,  disease, 
and  other  accidents ;  whilst  the  pecuniary  expenses  amounted  to 
upwards  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  millions  of  dollars ;  to  which 
must  be  added  the  sum  of  fifteen  millions  of  dollars  to  be  paid  to 
the  Mexican  republic,  as  an  indemnification  for  their  cession  and 
loss  of  several  extensive  provinces.  It  is  true  that  a  vast  territory 
has  thus  been  acquired  to  the  United  States,  and  it  cannot  be  denied 
that  a  surface  of  six  hundred  and  thirty  thousand  square  miles,  in- 
cluding Upper  California* and  New  Mexico,is  a  valuable  acquisition; 
yet,  as  the  greater  part  of  this  immense  tract  of  country  is'  dreary 
or  actually  uninhabited,  it  can  scarcely  be  considered  a  sufficient 
compensation  for  the  vast  expenditure  of  money  and  life,  were  it 
not  for  the  prospect  of  the  paramount  advantages  that  may  arise 
from  it  in  future,  with  regard  to  commerce  and  civilization. 

One  great  movement  has  already  begun  to  take  place  in  reference 
to  these  newly  acquired  possessions.  Multitudes  of  emigrants  are 
hurrying  westward  towards  the  shores  of  the  Pacific,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  working  the  golden  mines  of  Upper  California.  Settlements 
are  made ;  the  population  increases ;  the  hope  of  great  wealth  at- 
tracts continually  the  bold  adventurer;  and  that  hope,  if  we  believe 
the  common  report,  is  frequently  realized,  not  however  without  a 
proportionable  amount  of  misery. 

*  See  the  official  report  of  the  commander-in-chief,  General  Scott,  dated 
September  18,  1847,  from  the  National  Palace  of  Mexico, 
f  Mansfield,  Kexican  War,  p.  332. 


A. D.  1848-1850.       DISTURBANCES  IN  EUROPE.  477 

Such  has  been  the  immediate  effect  of  the  Mexican  treaty  on  the 
minds  and  conduct  of  the  American  people.  As  for  the  two  dis- 
tinguished men  that  acted  the  chief  part  in  the  war,  General  Scott 
and  General  Taylor,  they  have  found  a  proper  reward  for  their 
brilliant  achievements  in  the  esteem  and  gratitude  of  their  fellow- 
citizens.  The  former  enjoys  the  honor  of  being  considered  one  of 
the  best  generals  now  in  existence,  and  the  latter,  besides  a  similar 
reputation  attached  to  his  name,  has  been  raised  to  the  first  dignity 
of  his  country,  that  of  President  of  the  United  States,  the  functions 
of  which  he  began  to  exercise  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  1849. 


DISTURBANCES  AND  REVOLUTIONS  IN  EUROPE.* 
A.  D.  1848—1850. 

WHILE  the  United  States  have  thus  rapidly  risen  in  power  and 
in  extent  'of  territory,  Europe  has  been  given  up  to  a  series  of 
political  disturbances  and  revolutions.  In  various  parts  of  that 
continent,  either  discontent  under  the  pressure  of  misery,  or  more 
frequently,  a  spirit  of  restlessness  and  insubordination,  and  an  in- 
ordinate desire  of  social  changes,  have  given  rise  to  many  violent 
outbreaks  against  governments.  Independently  of  several  incidents 
of  this  kind  that  occurred  in  Switzerland,  Germany,  Prussia, 
&c.,  such  has  been  the  case  particularly  with  France,  the  Austrian 
dominions,  and  the  different  states  of  Italy. 

For  some  time  previous  to  the  year  1848,  the  storm  was  prepar- 
ing, which  subsequently  burst  on  the  continent  of  Europe.  It  first 
manifested  itself  in  Paris,  the  principal  and  ordinary  theatre  of 
revolutions.  In  consequence  of  some  dictatorial  measures  taken 
by  King  Louis  Philip  for  the  security  of  his  crown,  the  Parisian 
population  rose  in  immense  crowds,  and  in  the  short  space  of  a  day 
(the  22d  of  February,  1848),  overthrew  his  government.  It  is  diffi- 
cult to  conceive  any  thing  more  inglorious  than  the  downfall  of  that 
monarch,  till  then  reputed  one  of  the  ablest  sovereigns  in  the 
world  ;  he  fled  with  precipitation,  and  every  symptom  of  terror, 
towards  the  sea-coast,  and  seized  upon  the  first  opportunity  to  embark 
for  England,  where  he  has  ever  since  continued  to  reside  with  his 
family. 

*  The  reader  will  easily  perceive  that  the  revolutionists  of  Europe  are  not 
viewed,  throughout  our  Appendix,  in  the  same  favorable  light  as  they  are  by 
many  persons  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic.  Want  of  sufficient  acquaintance 
with  the  real  state  of  things  may  be  pleaded  as  an  excuse  for  these  persons; 
yet  it  is  surprising  that  those  European  Socialists,  Red  Republicans,  &c., 
should  be  considered  the  friends  of  liberal  and  free  institutions,  merely  be- 
cause they  have  continually  in  their  mouths  the  names  of  liberty  and  repub- 
licanism, while  their  real  object,  generally  speaking,  is  no  other  than  disorder, 
anarchy,  plunder  and  spoliation  ;  even  frequently  assassination  and  bloodshed  j 
in  a  word,  oppression  of  others,  and  for  themselves  unrestrained  license  to  com- 
mit every  species  of  evil.  This,  in  fact,  is  what  their  conduct  and  actions  have 
sufficiently  given  us  to  understand :  "  By  their  fruits  you  shall  know  them." 


478  MODERN  HISTORY.  Part  vm 

In  the  interim,  a  provisional  government  was  organized  in  Paris. 
The  chief  acts  of  this  transient  power  were,  on  the  one  hand,  an 
enormous  increase  of  taxes,  and  on  the  other,  the  convocation  of  a 
national  assembly,  or  congress,  to  be  composed  of  representatives 
from  all  parts  of  France,  and  whose  capital  object  would  be  to  frame 
a  new  constitution  for  the  country.  This  was  accordingly  done,  and 
the  session  voted  for  a  republican  form  of  government,  in  which  the 
legislative  power  should  reside  in  a  national  assembly,  consisting 
of  seven  hundred  representatives  .elected  for  three  years,  and  the 
executive  power  in  a  president,  chosen  for  four  years  by  a  majority 
of  the  people. 

But  these  regulations  did  not  satisfy  a  certain  class  of  men,  who, 
under  the  name  of  Red  Republicans  or  Socialists,  wished  to  destroy 
every  distinction  of  rank,  every  inequality  of  fortune,  and,  contrary 
to  all  regulations  of  property,  aimed  at  enriching  one-half  of  the 
people,  and  themselves  first  of  all,  at  the  expense  of  the  other  half. 
The  abettors  of  this  party  resting  their  hopes  much  more  on  con- 
tinual changes  of  government  than  on  any  regular  state  of  things, 
prepared  to  make,  in  the  very  centre  of  Paris,  a  mighty  effort  to 
frustrate  the  views  of  the  national  assembly,  bring  the  city  under 
their  own  control,  and  effect  a  new  revolution. 

Numerous  and  well-organized  forces,  a  vast  amount  of  guns  and 
ammunition,  a  well-combined  plan  of  attack,  skilful  leaders,  barri- 
cades and  other  fortifications,  all  contributed  to  render  the  Parisian 
insurrection  of  June,  1848,  one  of  the  most  formidable  attempts  that 
ever  threatened  the  existence  of  social  order.  It  required  all  the 
devotedness  of  the  well-meaning  citizens  and  troops,  all  the  energy 
of  General  Cavaignac  and  other  brave  commanders,  in  fine,  threo 
days  of  hard  fighting  and  much  bloodshed,  to  suppress  entirely  this 
terrible  manifestation  of  the  socialist  party.  Among  all  the  victims 
of  those  days,  the  most  conspicuous  was  M.  Affre,  archbishop  of 
Paris,  who,  in  his  earnest  desire  to  imitate  the  good  shepherd  that 
gives  his  life  for  his  sheep,  fell  mortally  wounded  near  a  barricade, 
whilst  endeavoring  to  soothe  the  feelings  of  the  misguided  portion 
of  his  flock,  and  to  effect  a  reconciliation.  As  if  his  blood  had  pos- 
sessed a  secret  virtue  to  remedy  the  public  evils,  no  serious  disturb- 
ances, although  attempts  were  made  to  excite  new  ones,  for  a  long 
time  after  occurred  in  France.  Both  the  executive  government,  and 
the  far  greater  portion  of  the  national  assembly,  have  always  mani- 
fested a  firm  determination  to  maintain  order  and  tranquillity. 

The  late  victory  over  the  insurgents  had  done  great  honor  to 
General  Ca,vaignac,  and  raised  him  high  in  the  esteem  of  the  nation. 
Hence  he  appeared  as  a  candidate  for  the  presidency,  and  with 
great  probability  of  success ;  but  the  tide  of  popular  favor  was  seen 
to  take  another  direction.  Whether  out  of  respect  for  the  name  of 
Napoleon,  or  through  the  hope  of  returning  to  a  princely  form,  of 
government,  Louis  Napoleon,  a* nephew  of  the  great  emperor  of 
Francs,  was  elected,  in  December,  1848,  president  of  the  French 
republic. 

,  in  many  respects,  to  the  disturbances  of  France,  were 


i.i).  1848-1850.       DISTURBANCES  IN  EUROPE.  479 

those  which  at  the  same  time  agitated  Germany,  and  especially  the 
various  parts  of  the  Austrian  empire.  A  revolutionary  spirit  per- 
raded,  to  a  greater  or  less  extent,  Vienna,  Prague,  and  other  cities, 
together  with  Hungary,  Lombardy,  and  other  provinces.  So  violent 
indeed  was  the  storm  at  a  certain  period;  that  the  Emperor  Ferdinand 
came  to  the  determination  of  abdicating  his  crown,  and  executed  his 
resolution  towards  the  close  of  the  year  1848,  in  behalf  of  his  nephew, 
the  Archduke  Francis  Joseph.  The  court,  however,  whilst  yield- 
ing something  to  the  exigency  of  the  times,  did  not  sink  under  the 
weight  of  so  many  difficulties.  With  a  firmness  and  energy  worthy 
of  the  Austrian  character,  the  government  levied  numerous  troops, 
and,  by  persevering  in  their  efforts,  gradually  succeeded  in  sup- 
pressing the  insurrection  in  all  the  places  and  countries  just  men- 
tioned. 

The  struggle,  it  is  true,  was  long  and  obstinately  maintained, 
"both  in  Hungary  and  Northern  Italy ;  but  it  merely  served,  on  that 
account,  to  make  the  cause  of  Austria  triumph  in  a  more  conspicu- 
ous and  decided  manner.  The  Hungarian  insurgents  were  so  often 
and  so  signally  defeated  by  the  Russians  on  the  one  side,,  and  by 
the  Austrians  on  the  other,  that  it  may  be  truly  said  of  them  that 
they  are  now  completely  prostrate  at  the  feet  of  these  two  great 
powers.  - 

The  war  in  Northern  Italy  was  not  less  decisive  in  favor  01  Aus- 
tria. It  seemed  at  first  that  the  insurgents  of  Lombardy,  aided  by 
the  chivalrous  king  of  Sardinia,  Charles  Albert,  would  carry  every 
thing  before  them,  and  expel  for  ever  those  whom  they  called 
foreigners  from  their  territory ;  but  their  triumph  was  very  short, 
a'nd  their  jov  quickly  damped  by  subsequent  reverses.  Numerous 
armies  of  Austrians,  pouring  in  from  the  Alps,  soon  restored  the 
imperial  power  throughout  Lombardy,  and  Charles  Albert  was  not 
only  disappointed  in  his  lofty  designs  of  conquest  and  aggrandize- 
ment, but  .even  taught,  by  several  defeats,  to  tremble  for  his  own 
kingdom  (A.  D.  1848). 

An  armistice,  however,  was  granted  him  by  the  conquerors.  But 
as  the  two  parties  could  not,  in  the  interval,  come  to  a  settlement 
of  their  differences,  preparations  were  made  on  both  sides  for  a 
renewal  of  hostilities.  There  now  existed  a  still  greater  dispropor- 
tion between  them  than  before,  and  the  king  of  Sardinia,  well 
aware  of  it,  recommenced  the  struggle  much  against  his  own  judg- 
ment, and  compelled,  as  it  were,  by  the  earnest  wishes  of  imprudent 
counsellors  and  subjects.  The  common  feeling  on  the  opposite  side 
was  quite  the  reverse ;  the  armies  of  Austria,  and  their  able  com- 
mander-in-chief,  Marshal  Radetski,  were  animated  by  the  recollec- 
tion of  past  success,  and  marched  to  the  field  of  battle  with  an 
entire  confidence  of  future  triumphs. 

.Raclotski  left  Milan  at  the  head  of  forty  thousand  men,  on  the 
13th  of  March,  1849,  and  crossed  the  Tessino  on  the  20th,  by  the 
bridge  at  Vigevano.  At  that  place  he  met  with  some  slight  resist- 
ance from  the  Picdmontese,  but  not  of  such  a  nature  as  to  impede 
his  progress ;  he  therefore  immediately  advanced  to  Mortara,  and, 


480  MODERN   HISTOEY.  Part  Tin 

•while  with  the  main  body  of  his  troops  he  went  on  towards  Ver- 
celli,  so  disposed  his  left  wing  as  to  intercept  one-half  of  the  Pied- 
montese  army.  By  this  sudden  and  bold  advance  of  their  enemy, 
two  of  their  divisions  were  separated  from  the  rest,  and  Charles 
Albert,  who  commanded  in  person  the  other  portion  of  the  Sardinian 
army,  was  forced  to  give  battle  upon  very  unequal  terms.  He  had 
scarcely  any  artillery,  whilst  the  Austrians  had  upwards  of  a  hun- 
dred field  pieces,  which  enabled  them  to  destroy  thousands  of  the 
Piedmontese  with  grape-shot;  hence  the  latter  were  entirely  de- 
feated, and  compelled  to  retire  precipitately  towards  Turin.  This 
battle  was  fought  on  the  22d  of  March,  nine  days  after  $he  depar- 
ture of  Radetski  from  Milan. 

On  the  following  day,  the  two  parties  again  came  in  collision  near 
Novara,  where  the  Austrians  gained  a  second  victory  still  more 
signal  and  complete  than  the  first.  It  appears  that  the  Piedmontese 
made  a  still  greater  resistance  than  in  the  previous  battle,  and  that 
their  loss  was  frightful,  not  being  less,  it  is  thought,  than  fifteen 
thousand  men  killed.  The  sad  remnants  of  their  troops  were  routed 
in  every  direction ;  Charles  Albert  himself,  after  having  during  the 
conflict  given  proofs  of  the  most  determined  courage,  fled  into 
Switzerland,  and  thence  into  Spain,  not  however  till  he  had  abdi- 
cated hjs  crown  in  favor  of  his  son  Victor.  Such  was  the  result  of 
those  dreams  of  ambition,  which  had  prompted  him  to  believe  that 
he  might  gain  possession  of  all  Northern  Italy. 

Marshal  Radetski  returned  in  triumph  to  Milan,  after  an  absence 
of  only  eleven  days,  during  which  he  had  achieved  one  of  the  most 
glorious  exploits  of  modern  times.  He  had  skilfully  arranged  his 
plans,  and  kept  them  so  secret  that  the  Piedmontese  had  no  means 
of  discovering  them,  till  it  was  too  late  to  prevent  their  own  total 
overthrow.  Hence  his  victory  proved  a  decisive  one,  and  put  an 
end  to  the  war.  In  August  following,  a  treaty  was  Concluded  be- 
tween the  two  states  upon  terms  favorable  to  Austria,  "without, 
however,  derogating  from  the  honor  of  the  Sardinian  government. 

Great  disturbances  and  alarming  insurrections  had  likewise  oc- 
curred in  the  south  of  Italy,  but  all  were  also  suppressed  by  the 
vigor  and  energy  of  the  Neapolitan  court.  Indeed,  the  obstinate 
resistance  of  several  cities,  especially  in  Sicily,  (for  instance,  Catena, 
Messina  and  Syracuse),  merely  served  to  provoke  against  them 
measures  of  greater  severity. 

Owing  to  a  variety  of  circumstances,  affairs  have  not  been  so  soon 
and  so  easily  settled  at  Rome.  Long  before  this,  the  enlightened 
and  benevolent  pontiff,  Pius  IX,  had  taken  the  lead  of  all  contem- 
porary sovereigns  in  granting  liberal  institutions  to  his  people,  and 
in  doing  for  them  whatever  could  reasonably  be  attempted  for  their 
prosperity  and  happiness.  This  beneficence  at  first  excited  univer- 
sal applause  and  enthusiasm ;  when,  through  the  vile  intrigues  and 
machinations  of  his  enemies,  these  just  sentiments  towards  the 
pope  were  in  a  short  time  superseded  by  revolt  and  ingratitude* 
There  is  no  kind  of  outrage  that  was  not  perpetrated  against  his 
paternal  authority  by  these  enemies  of  order  and  virtue,  whether 


A. D.  1818-1850.       DISTURBANCES   IN   EUROPE.  481 

natives  of  Rome  or  foreigners,  the  very  dregs  of  European  society. 
As  their  only  object  was  to  promote  their  own  interest,  even  at  the 
sacrifice  of  public  and  private  tranquillity,  the  most  abusive  lan- 
guage, misrepresentations,  calumnies,  plots  and~~assassinations, 
became  at  Rome  the  order  of  the  day.  Cowardice,  or  treason  and 
rebellion,  deprived  the  pope  of  every  means  to  stop  these  disorders ; 
nay,  his  prime  minister,  Count  Rossi,  was  publicly  murdered,  and 
he  himself  being  attacked  and  imprisoned,  as  it  were,  in  his  own 
palace,  was  more  and  more  exposed  to  the  savage  clamors  and  at- 
tempts of  an  infuriated  rabble.  At  length,  by  the  skilful  manage- 
ment of  the  Bavarian  and  French  ambassadors,  he  happily  escaped 
from  Rome,  and  travelling  in  haste,  reached  Gaeta,  in  the  kingdom 
of  Naples,  where  he  met  with  the  most  cordial  reception  from  both 
the  king  and  the  king's  family  and  subjects  (November,  1848). 

The  first  solemn  act  performed  by  the  pontiff  in  his  exile,  was 
one  of  apostolical  vigor.  No  later  than  the  1st  of  January,  1849, 
he  excommunicated  the  usurpers  of  his  power  and  the  oppressors 
of  his  people,  and,  as  this  measure  had  little  effect  on  persons  that 
were  total  strangers  to  feelings  of  religion,  honor  and  humanit}^, 
he  appealed,  in  order  to  check  the  course  of  their  impious  and  pre- 
datory excesses,  to  the  intervention  of  the  catholic  powers.  The 
appeal  was  readily  responded  to.  While  the  Austrians,  Neapolitans 
and  Spaniards  sent  bodies  of  troops  to  the  different  provinces  of  the 
Ecclesiastical  State,  to  re-establish  in  them  the  pope's  authority,  a 
French  army,  having  landed  at  Civita  Vccchia,  fearlessly  proceeded 
against  Rome  itself,  defended  as  it  was  by  fortifications,  barricades, 
and,  it  is  said,  twenty-eight  thousand  Socialists,  Romans  and 
foreigners.  The  French  met  at  first  a  trifling  check,  which  merely 
taught  them  to  be  more  cautious  in  their  advance.  The  skill  of 
General  Oudinot  and  the  bravery  of  his  troops  soon  bore  every  thing 
before  them,  and,  by  ruining  the  works  and  carrying  the  strongest 
positions  of  the  enemy,  forced  the  city  to  an  unconditional  sur- 
render, on  the  29th  of  June,  1849.  On  the  2d  of  July,  the  victori- 
ous general  entered  it  at  the  head  of  his  army,  and  immediately 
proclaimed  the  restitution  of  the  pontifical  government ;  yet  the 
pope's  return  to  Rome  was  still  postponed,  and  did  not  take  place 
'  till  the  following  April. 

Such  was  the  state  of  affairs  throughout  Europe  in  the  beginning 
of  the  year  1850 :  what  will  be  the  ultimate  result  of  so  many  dis- 
turbances and  revolutions,  no  human  sagacity  can  determine.  It- 
has,  indeed,  fortunately  happened,  through  a  special  intervention  of 
the  Providence  of  Gocf,  moved  by  the  prayers  of  his  people,  that, 
whilst  a  new  and  frightful  storm  was  seen  gathering  on  all  sides, 
the  president  of  the  French  republic,  Napoleon,  by  suddenly  con- 
centrating the  ruling  power  in  his  hands  (1851),  has  crippled  the 
power  of  socialism  and  other  discordant  parties  in  France :  a  mas- 
terly stroke  of  policy  or  coup  d'etat,  generally  applauded  by  the 
friends  of  order,  and  looked  upon  as  a  measure  that  has  saved  not 
only  France,  but  probably  several  other  countries,  from  the  unfa- 
thomable abyss  of  evils  with  which  they  were  threatened.  Yet,  the 


482  MODERN    HISTORY.  Part  VIII. 

abettors  of  public  disturbances  and  the  members  of  secret  societies 
arc  still  much  to  be  feared,  if  not,  perhaps,  for  their  actual  endea- 
vors, at  least  for  their  desires,  to  undermine,  where  and  when  they 
can,  as  well  religion  as  the  existing  governments. 

Besides  this,  the  east  of  Europe  again  begins  to  be  the  theatre  of 
momentous  events.  The  Russian  Czar,  Nicholas,  proud  of  his  co- 
lossal power,  and  ill-concealing  his  ambition  under  the  plea  of  pro- 
tecting the  Greek  subjects  of  the  Ottoman  empire,*  is  engaged  in  an 
open  war  against  the  Turks,  of  which  he  himself  has  given  the  sig- 
nal, by  invading  a  portion  of  the  Turkish  territory.  It  is  true,  that 
the  Russians  have  generally  failed  in  their  subsequent  attempts, 
and  have  even  suffered  great  losses,  especially  at  Giurgevo  and 
before  the  walls  of  Silistria ;  England,  moreover,  under  Queen  Vic- 
toria, and  France,  under  her  watchful  ruler,  now  emperor  Napoleon 
Ill.f,  have  declared  war  against  the  Czar,  and  united  their  forces  to 
check  his  ambitious  career:  yet,  no  decisive  action  has  hitherto 
taken  place,  and  no  one  can  tell  (1854)  what  will  be  the  result  of 
the  gigantic  preparations  already  made  on  each  side.  All  we  can 
say  is,  that  the  present  war  threatens  to  be  a  long  and  slow,  as  well 
as  most  important  conflict. 

*  Strange  to  say,  the  emperor  Nicholas  pretends  to  vindicate  the  rights 
of  his  co-religionists,  whom  the  Turkish  government  does  not  persecute, 
whilst  he  himself  has  cruelly  oppressed  numbers  of  his  unoffending 
catholic  subjects. — See  the  proofs  in  Catholic  Cabinet  and  Magazine,  vol. 
i.  p.  530  ;  ii.  496 ;  iii.  341 ;  v.  46,  224,  278 ;  and  in  Annah  of  the  Pro- 
payation,  Engl.  ed.  vol.  vi.  pp.  231 — 244,  etc. 

f  The  young  duke  of  Reichstadt,  son  of  the  first  Napoleon,  is  sup- 
posed, under  the  new  dynasty,  to  have  been  by  right  Emperor  Napoleon  II. 


NOTES. 


NOTE  A.  — PAGE  39. 

CHARACTER    AND    DEATH    OF    SENECA,    LUCAN,    ETC. 

THIS  Seneca,  surnamed  the  Philosopher,  to  distinguish  him  from  his  father 
Seneca,  called  the  Orator,  was  a  man  of  great  genius  and  learning.  He 
left  a  great  number  of  moral  treatises,  which  contain  beautiful  maxims 
mingled  with  many  errors,  and  the  style  of  which,  labored  and  refined, 
greatly  contributed  to  the  decline  of  good  taste  and  true  eloquence  in  Rome. 
As  to  his  character,  although  he  was  possessed  of  many  moral  virtues,  his 
weak  connivance  at  several  vices  and  crimes  of  Nero,  his  vanity,  his  usuries 
and  immense  riches,  showed  that  his  boasted  philosophy  consisted  more  in 
theory  than  in  practice.  In  compliance  with  the  orders  of  Nero,  he  died 
by  taking  poison  and  opening  his  veins. 

The  death  of  Lucan  the  poet,  his  nephew,  was  very  similar :  in  obedi- 
ence to  the  same  tyrannical  orders,  he  also  caused  his  veins  to  be  opened. 
After  having  lost  a  great  quantity  of  blood,  finding  his  hands  and  feet  grow 
cold,  and  the  extremities  of  his  body  almost  dead,  whilst,  the  parts  nearer 
the  heart  still  retained  their  natural  warmth ;  he  recollected  the  description 
he  had  given  in  his  Pharsalia  of  a  death  very  like  his  own,  and  recited  from 
it  the  following  lines,  which  were  his  last  words : 

Scinditur  avulsus,  nee,  sicut  vulnere,  sanguis 
,  Emicuit  lentus :  ruptis  cadit  undique  venis. 

*****     Pars  ultima  trunci 

Tradidit  in  letum  vacuos  vitalibus  artus. 

At  tumidus  qua  pulmo  jacet,  qua,  viscera  fervent, 

Haeserunt  ibi  fata  diu ;  luctataque  multum 

Hac  cum  parte  viri  vix  omriia  membra  tulerunt. 

Lucani  Pharsalia,  III. 

*         *         *         *     Asunder  flies  the  man. 
No  single  wound  the  gaping  rupture  seems, 
Where  trickling  crimson  wells  in  slender  streams ; 
But  from  an  opening  horrible  and  wide, 
A  thousand  vessels  pour  the  bursting  tide. 


Soon  from  the  lower  parts  the  spirits  fled, 

And  motionless  th'  exhausted  limbs  lay  dead, 

Not  so  the  nobler  regions,  where  the  heart 

And  heaving  lungs  their  vital  powers  exert: 

There  lingering  late  and  long  conflicting,  life 

Rose  against  fate,  and  still  maintained  the  strife. 

Driven  out  at  length,  unwillingly  and  slow, 

She  left  her  mortal  house,  and  sought  the  shades  below. 

Roive. 


484  NOTES. 

Many  others,  in  tne  same  corrupt  age,  either  anticipated  by  a  voluntary 
death,  or  consented  to  execute  upon  themselves  the  sentence  of  their  con- 
demnation :  and  it  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  the  frequency  of  suicide  always 
bears  a  proportion  to  the  depravity  of  the  time  and  country  in  which  it  is 
practised,  it  being  one  of  the  basest  and  most  heinous  crimes  that  can  be 
committed.  One  of  the  basest,  because,  far  from  being  a  mark  of  true  forti- 
tude, it  is,  on  the  contrary,  a  sure  mark  of  pusillanimity,  and  of  a  mind 
easily  overcome  by  misfortune  ;  as  Martial  the  poet  has  said :  "  Fortiter 
ille  facit,  qui  miser  esse  potest — he  is  truly  courageous,  who  can  bear  to  be 
unfortunate."  One  of  the  most  heinous,  against  God,  whose  sovereign  do- 
minion over  life  and  death  it  violates  by  a  bold  usurpation  ;  against  society, 
which  it  unjustly  deprives  of  its  members ;  and  against  the  perpetrator 
himself,  whom  it  consigns  to  everlasting  misery,  in  exchange  for  a  temporal 
evil :  for  such,  and  no  other,  must  be  the  result  of  suicide,  not  only  on  the 
principles  of  divine  revelation,  but  even  on  those  of  reason  and  natural  light 
Whence  Virgil,  in  his  ^Eneid,  speaking  of  the  place  of  torments  appointed 
in  Tartarus  lor  those  who  have  committed  suicide,  very  justly  exclaims : 


*****        Quain  vellent  aethere  in  alto, 
Nunc  et  pauperiem  et  duros  perferre  labores ! — JEncid,  vi. 

The  whole  passage  stands  thus  in  Dryden : 

The  next  in  place,  and  punishment,  are  they 

Who  prodigally  threw  their  souls  away : 

Fools,  who  repining  at  their  wretched  state, 

And  loathing  anxious  life,  suborn'd  their  fate. 

With  late  repentance  now  they  would  retrieve 

The  bodies  they  forsook,  and  wish  to  live; 

Their  pains  and  poverty  desire  to  bear, 

To  view  the  light  of  heaven,  and  breathe  the  vital  air. 

But  fate  forbids ;  the  Stygian  floods  oppose,  » 

And,  with  nine  circling  streams,  the  captive  soul  enclose. 

Thus  the  guilt  and  folly  of  suicide  were  acknowledged  by  the  wisest  of 
Pagans ;  and"  if  the  contrary  opinion  was  more  prevalent  among  them,  it 
must  be  ascribed  to  the  depravity  of  the  times,  and  to  that  almost  universal 
darkness  which  an  absurd  polytheism  had  spread  over  the  principles  of 
morality;  a  circumstance  this,  which  renders  the  admission  of  suicide 
among  Christians  still  more  unjustifiable.  As  to  the  equally  criminal  and 
brutal  practice  of  duelling,  so  common  in  our  days,  it  was  totally  unknown 
to  the  civilized  nations  or"  antiquity,  and  originated  in  the  ferocity  of  those 
barbarians  of  Northern  Europe,  who,  in  the  fifth  century,  overthrew  the 
Roman  empire. 

NOTE  B.— PAGE  43 

THE    HISTORIAN   JOSEPH  US. 

NEARLY  all  that  we  relate  concerning  the  Jewish  war,  being  taken  fron» 
Josephus,  it  will  not  be  amiss  to  make  "some  remarks  respecting  that  great 
historian ;  referring,  for  a  fuller  account  of  his  life,  to  his  own  writings. 

Josephus  was  born  of  an  illustrious  Jewish  family.  From  his  youth,  he 
appeared  still  more  remarkable  for  the  qualities  of  his  mind  than  for  the 


NOTES*  485 

nobleness  of  his  extraction,  and  showed  so  accurate  a  knowledge  of  the 
Mosaic  law,  that,  even  at  the  age  of  fourteen  years,  he  was  consulted  on 
important  matters  by  the  doctors  themselves.  Having,  in  course  of  time, 
acquired  more  and  more  credit  and  authority  among  his  countrymen,  he 
made  every  effort  to  prevent  them  from  rebelling  against  the  Romans  ;  and, 
when  he  found  his  endeavors  of  no  avail,  he  resolved  at  least  to  retard,  as 
long  as  possible,  the. moment  of  their  ruin.  He  was  appointed  by  them 
governor  of  Gallilee,  one  of  the  Jewish  provinces  most  exposed,  from  its 
position,  to  the  attacks  of  the  enemy. 

Notwithstanding  many  obstacles,  Josephus,  by  his  ability,  prudence  and 
firmness,  kept  that  province  in  good  order  for  some  time;  but  the  approach 
of  a  powerful  army  commanded  by  Vespasian,  compelled  him  to  retire  into 
Jotapat,  the  best  fortified  town  in  the  country.  Though  pursued  and  be- 
sieged by  the  Romans,  he  defended  the  town,  with  astonishing  skill  and 
valor  during  forty-seven  days,  at  the  end  of  which,  Jotapat  was  taken  by 
surprise,  and  its  inhabitants  were  put  to  the  sword,  with  the  exception  of 
some  hundred  women  and  children.  Josephus  took  refuge  in  a  deep  cavern, 
where  he  concealed  himself  with  forty  of  his  soldiers.  Three  days  after, 
the  place  of  his  retreat  having  been  discovered  by  the  conquerors,  he  would 
have  immediately  intrusted  himself  to  the  generosity  of  Vespasian,  had  he 
not  been  prevented  from  surrendering  by  the  threats  of  his  companions. 
These  furious  men,  to  avoid  falling  into  the  hands  of  a  victorious  enemy, 
resolved  to  kill  themselves  with  their  own  swords ;  Josephus  prevailed  on 
them  rather  to  die  by  the  hands  of  others,  proposing  to  mem  to  decide  by 
lot  who  should  be  first  killed  by  his  companion,  who  should  follow  next, 
and  so  on  to  the  last :  a  proposal,  after  all,  not  less  exceptionable  than  their 
first  design.  They  followed  it  however,  till  Josephus,  most  fortunately, 
remained,  with  only  one  man,  whom  he  persuaded  to  surrender  with  him  to 
the  Romans ;  (see  Josephus  himself,  De  Bella  Judaico,  lib.  in,  c.  7  and  8.) 
He  was  kindly  treated  by  Vespasian,  and  still  more  so  by  Titus,  who  had 
conceived  a  great  esteem  for  his  merit.  He  afterwards  followed  this  prince 
to  the  siege  of  Jerusalem,  where  he  repeatedly  exhorted  his  countrymen 
to  imitate  his  example,  and  to  deserve  the  clemency  of  the  Romans  by  an 
entire  submission ;  but,  far  from  being  successful  in  the  attempt,  he  was 
insulted,  and,  on  one  occasion  even  wounded ;  he  would  have  been  either 
»lain  or  taken  prisoner,  had  not  Titus  speedily  sent  a  body  of  soldiers  to 
his  assistance,  who  succeeded  in  carrying  him  back  to  the  camp.  After 
the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  he  went  with  the  same  prince  to  Rome,  where 
he  continued  to  be  much  honored  by  him  and  his  father  Vespasian. 

It  was  during  his  residence  in  Rome,  that  Josephus  finished  his  many 
historical  works,  which  display  a  talent  for  narrative,  a  warmth  of  imagina- 
tion and  a  beauty  of  style,  that  have  gained  for  him  the  surname  of  the 
Grecian  Livy.  The  most  celebrated  of  his  writings  is  the  "History  of  the 
Jewish  War,"  in  seven  books.  It  obtained  the  unqualified  approbation  of 
Vespasian,  Titus  and  King  Agrippa,  who  were  all  perfectly  acquainted 
with  the  facts  there  mentioned. 

Indeed  nothing  is  wanting  to  render  that  work  both  highly  interesting 
and  credible.  It  is  the  history  of  a  war  unparalleled  in  the  annals  of  nations; 
a  narrative  of  notorious  as  well  as  extraordinary  events,  written  by  one 
who  had  been  an  eye-witness,  and  even  one  of  the  chief  actors  in  them :  a 
narrative  published  at  a  time,  when  it  could  have  been  easily  contradicted 
by  a  thousand  other  vviinesses,  had  it  been  deemed  at  variance  with  facts— far 
from  being  thus  contradicted,  it  rret  with  universal  admiration  and  praise. 
It  is  a  history,  the  author  of  which  Almighty  God  saved  by  a  special  pro- 
tection from" innumerable  dangers,  that  we  might  have  in  him  an  unexcep- 
tionable witness  of  the  entire  fulfilment  of  the  divine  phophecies  concerning 
41* 


4SG  NOTES. 

the  temple  and  city  of  Jerusalem.  In  a  word,  it  is  both  an  authentic  ana 
admirable  record,  which,  though  very  favorable  to  the  cause  of  Christianity, 
cannot  in  the  least  be  suspected  of  partiality  for  the  Christians,  since  the 
writer  was  not  a  Christian,  but  a  Jew  constantly  attached  to  his  religion, 
his  nation  and  his  country. 


NOTE  C.— PAGE  94. 

NUMBER  OF  MARTYRS  DURING  THE  GENERAL  PERSECUTIONS  OF  THE 
CHURCH. 

WHAT  we  have  related  of  the  persecutions  of  the  church  during  the  first 
ages,  plainly  shows  that  the  multitude  of  those  who  were  put  to  death  for 
the  cause  of  the  Christian  faith,  was  immense.  Still  Gibbon,  in  his  '  De- 
cline and  fall  of  the  Roman  Empire,'  ch.  xvi,  maintains  that  the  number  of 
martyrs  was  not  considerable,  nor  their  courage  astonishing.  The  follow- 
ing additional  quotations  from  ancient  sources,  will  show  at  once,  it  is 
hoped,  the  falsity  of  his  assertions,  and  the  accuracy  of  our  statement. 
For  the  sake  of  brevity,  we  shall  confine  our  remarks  to  the  first,  fifth  and 
tenth  persecutions. 

For  the  first  persecution,  besides  Tertullian  and  other  ecclesiastical 
writers,  we  have  the  grave  and  contemporary  pagan  historian  Tacitus,  who 
writes  thus  :  "  An  immense  multitude  (inultiludo  ingens)  of  Christians  were 
condemned,  not,  indeed,  upon  evidence  of  their  having  set  the  city  (of  Home) 
on  fire,  but  rather  on  account  of  the  hatred  of  the  whole  human  race.  To 
their  sufferings  Nero  added  mockery  and  derision.  Some  were  covered 
with  the  skins  of  wild  beasts,  to  make  dogs  devour  them ;  others  were  cru- 
cified ;  and  many,  covered  over  with  inflammable  matter,  were  lighted  up, 
when  the  day  declined,  to  serve  as  torches  during  the  night."  (Tacit 
slnnal.,  lib.  xv,  n.  44.) 

With  regard  to  the  fifth  persecution  (which  Gibbon  modestly  calls  a 
mitigated  one) ,  merely  to  mention  the  martyrs  of  Lyons ;  Ado  of  Vienna  says 
in  his  martyrology  (23th  of  June),  that  St.  Irenaeus,  bishop  of  that  city, 
suil'ercd  martyrdom  with  an  exceedingly  great  multitude.  An  ancient 
epitaph,  inscribed  on  a  curious  mosaic  pavement  in  the  great  church  of  St. 
Irenaeus  at  Lyons,  says  that  the  number  of  the  martyrs  who  died  with  him, 
amounted  to  the  number  of  nineteen  thousand,  besides  women  and  children 
St.  Gregory  of  Tours  writes  that  St.  Irenaeus  had,  in  a  very  short  time 
converted  to  the  Christian  faith  nearly  the  whole  city  of  Lyons,  and  thai 
with  him  were  butchered  almost  all  the  Christians  of  that  populous  town; 
in  so  much  that  streams  of  blood  flowed  through  the  streets  :  Tanta  multi- 
tude* Christianoniinjiigulata  est,  ut  per  plaieasjhnnina  currerent  de  sanguine 
Christiana;  (Hist.  Franc,  lib.  i.  c.  2!).)  St.  Eucherius  writes  on  the  mar- 
tyrs of  Lyons  in  the  like  manner;  and  Eusebius,  speaking  in  more  general 
terms  of  the  same  persecution,  says  :  "  When  Severus  raised  a  persecution 
against  the  Church,  there  were  illustrious  testimonies  given  by  the  comba- 
tants of  religion  in  the  various  churches  every  where;"  (Eccl.  Hist.  lib.  vi 
c.  1.)  So  much  for  the  mitigated  persecution  of  Septimius  Severus. 

The  same  Eusebius  relates  more  at  large  the  tenth  persecution,  the 
atrocities  of  which  he  had  witnessed  with  his  own  eyes.  To  the  texts 
and  facts  which  we  have  quoted  from  him,  page  94,  we  will  subjoin  the 
following,  also  taken  from  his  Ecclesiastical  History,  book  VIII,  according 


NOTES.  487 

Ch.  6.  "Innumerable  multitudes  were  imprisoned  in  every  place,  and 
the  dungeons  formerly  destined  for  murderers  and  the  vilest  criminals,  were 
then  filled  with  bishops,  and  presbyters  (priests),  and  deacons,  readers  and 
exorcists ;  so  that  there  was  no  room  left  for  those  condemned  for  crimes. 
But,  when  the  former  edict  was  followed  by  another,  in  which  it  was  ordered 
that  the  prisoners  should  be  permitted  to  have  their  liberty  if  they  sacrificed, 
but  persisting,  they  should  be  punished  with  the  most  excruciating  tortures, 
who  could  tell  the  number  of  those  martyrs  in  every  province,  and  particu- 
larly in  Mauritania,  Thebais  and  Egypt,  that  suffered  death  for  their 
religion  ? " 

Ch.  S.  "  In  Egypt,  thousands,  both  men  and  women,  and  children,  de- 
spising the  present  life  for  the  sake  of  our  Saviour's  doctrine,  submitted  to 
death  in  various  shapes.  Some,  after  being  tortured  with  scrapings  and 
the  rack,  and  the  most  dreadful  scourgings,  and  other  innumerable  agonies, 
which  one  might  shudder  to  hear,  were  finally  committed  to  the  flames ; 
some  were  plunged  and  drowned  in  the  sea;  others  voluntarily  offered  their 
own  heads  to  the  executioners  ;  others  died  in  the  midst  of  their  torments, 
some  wasted  away  by  famine,  and  others  again  fixed  to  the  cross.  Some, 
indeed,  were  executed  as  malefactors  usually  were ;  others,  more  cruelly, 
were  nailed  with  the  head  downwards,  and  kept  alive  until  they  were  de- 
stroyed by  starving  on  the  cross  itself." 

Ch.  9.  "  But  it  would  exceed  all  power  of  detail  to  give  an  idea  of  the 

sufferings  and  tortures  which  the  Martyrs  of  Theba'is  endured And  all 

these  tilings  done  not  only  for  a  few  days,  or  some  time,  but  for  a  series  of 
whole  years.  At  one  time,  ten  or  more ;  at  another,  more  than  twenty ; 
at  another  time,  not  less  than  thirty,  and  even  sixty;  and  again,  at  another 
time,  a  hundred  men  with  their  wives  and  little  children  were  slain  in  one 
day,  whilst  they  were  condemned  to  various  and  varied  punishments.  We 
ourselves  have  observed,  \\hen  on  the  spot,  many  crowded  together  in  one 
day,  some  suffering  decapitation,  some  the  torments  of  flames ;  so  that  the 
murderous  weapon  was  completely  blunted,  and  having  lost  its  edge,  broke 
to  pieces;  and  the  executioners  themselves,  wearied  with  slaughter,  were 
obliged  to  relieve  one  another.  Then,  also,  we  were  witnesses  to  the  most 
admirable  ardor  of  mind,  and  the  truly  divine  energy  and.  alacrity  of  those 
that  believed  in  Christ.  For,  as  soon  as  the  sentence  was  pronounced 
against  the  first,  others  rushed  forward  from  other  parts  to  the  tribunal 
before  the  judge,  and,  most  indifferent  to  the  dreadful  and  multiform  tor- 
tures that  awaited  them,  openly  declared  that  they  were  Christians." 

Ch.  12.  "In  Pontus  and  other  countries  of  Asia,  the  martyrs  endured 
torments  that  are  horrible  to  relate.  Some  had  their  fingers  pierced  with 
sharp  reeds  thrust  under  their  nails.  Others  were  roasted  by  masses  of 
melted  lead. . . .  Some  were  suspended  by  the  feet,  and  a  little  raised  from 
the  ground  with  their  heads  downward,  were  suffocated  with  the  ascending 
smoke  of  a  gentle  fire  kindled  below. . .  .Others  were  roasted  on  grates  ot 
fire,  not  to  kill  immediately,  but  torture  them  with  a  lingering  punishment 
....  It  is  impossible  to  tell  the  great  and  incalculable  number  of  those  that 
had  their  right  eye  dug  out  with  the  sword,  and  then  seared  with  a  red  hot 
iron ;  those  too,  whose  left  foot  was  maimed  with  a  searing  iron ;  after  these, 
those  who  in  different  provinces  were  condemned  to  the  copper  mines,  not 
so  much  for  the  service,  as  for  the  contumely  and  misery  they  should  en- 
dure. Many,  also,  endured  conflicts  of  other  kinds,  which  it  wouhl  be 
impossible  to  detail ;  for  their  noble  fortitude  surpasses  all  power  of  descrip- 
tion. In  this,  the  magnanimous  confessors  of  Christ  that  shone  conspicuous 
throughout  the  whole  world,  every  where  struck  the  beholders  with  aston- 
ishment, and  presented  the  obvious  proofs  of  our  Saviour's  divine  interposi- 
tion in  their  own  persons." 


488  JVOTES. 

Is  not  all  this  more  than  sufficient  to  overthrow  at  once  the  whole  system 
of  Gibbon  concerning  the  Christian  martyrs  ?  The  sceptical  author  has 
himself  perceived  it  very  well;  and  hence  his  anger  against  Eusebius. 

Lactantius  has  fewer  words,  but  is  not  less  positive  than  Eusebius  on  the 
excessive  cruelties  and  ravages  of  the  persecution  of  Diocletian.  "  Though 
I  had,"  says  he,  "  a  hundred  mouths  and  tongues,  with  an  iron  breast,  it 
\vould  be  impossible  for  me  to  describe  the  various  and  horrid  tortures  that 
were  inflicted  on  the  guiltless  Christians,  throughout  the  provinces  of  the 
empire."  (De  Mode  perscc.  n.  xvi .) 

Sulpicius  Severus,  who  lived  in  the  same  century,  though  a  little  later, 
expresses  himself  in  the  same  manner  on  the  present  subject.  The  follow- 
ing are  his  words,  in  the  2d  book  of  his  Hist.  Sacr.:  "Under  the  empire  of 
Diocletian  and  Maximian,  a  most  rigorous  persecution  arose,  whicn  made 
frightful  ravages  in  the  church  for  ten  years  in  succession.  During  that 
period,  nearly  the  wrhole  world  was  stained  with  the  blood  of  the  holy  mar-, 
tyrs.  Never  was  the  earth  more  depopulated  by  any  war,  than  by  this 
persecution;  nor  did  the  church  ever  obtain  a  greater  triumph,  than  when 
it  could  not  be  conquered  by  a  continual  slaughter  which  lasted  ten  years." 
Dioclctiano  ct  Maxtnuano  impcrantibus,  acerbissima  perseculio  exorta,  qua 
per  dccem  continues  annos  plcbem  Dei  depopulaia  est.  Qu&  tempcstate  oitutis 
fere  sacro  martyrum  cruore  orbis  infect  us  eat. . .  Nullis  umquain  magis  bcllis 
mundus  exhausins  cst :  neque  major e  unquan  triumpfio  vicimus,  quam  quiim 
deccm  annorum  stragibm  vinci  non  potuimus. 

There  is  yet  extant  a  medal  of  Diocletian  with  this  inscription:  "The 
name  of  Christians  being  annihilated;"  Nomine  Chriitianomin  deleto.  This 
indeed  was  asserting  what  had  never  happened;  still,  what  an  immense 
quantity  of  blood  must  have  been  shed,  to  make  the  persecutors  believe  that 
they  had  obliterated  the  Christian  name,  and  destroyed  a  religion  which 
filled  the  whole  empire ! 

After  such  unexceptionable  testimonies,  which  certainly  suppose  the 
number  of  martyrs  to  have  amounted  to  millions,  how  ridiculous  and  absurd 
r.ir.st  the  assertions  of  Gibbon  appear,  when,  besides  frequently  contradict- 
ing himself,  he  maintains :  first,  that  there  were  not  more  than  fifteen  hun- 
dred or  two  thousand  martyrs  in  the  persecution  of  Diocletian ;  secondly, 
that  their  sufferings  ought  to  be  ascribed  to  a  cause  different  from  that  of 
religion,  and  their  fortitude  to  mere  human  motives,  such  as  pride,  ambition 
and  desire  of  glory;  thirdly,  that  their  tortures  only  existed  in-the  imagina- 
tion of  the  monks  of  latter  ages!  Indeed,  was  Gibbon  serious,  when 
writing  these  things,  or  did  he  not  rather  intend  to  trifle  with  his  readers? 
In  how  deceitful  and  shameful  a  manner  does  he  endeavor  to  answer  and 
oppose  the  most  authentic  monuments  of  antiquity ! 

1st.  He  conceals,  omits,  alters,  or  calls  in  question  the  strongest  passages 
of  ancient  historians,  which  are  contrary  to  his  system ;  a  commodious  way 
indeed  to  get  rid  of  the  most  forcible  proofs,  when  they  cannot  be  met  with 
solid  argument! 

2d.  He  impeaches  the  veracity,  or  at  least  the  accuracy  of  Tacitus  in  the 
passage  above  quoted,  under  the  pretence  that  Tacitus  had  not  seen  what 
he  relates :  as  if  ocular  demonstration  were  the  only  means  of  acquiring  the 
knowledge  of  facts,  and  as  if  Tacitus  could  not  be  perfectly  acquainted 
with  an  event  quite  notorious  in  its  nature,  which  happened  inllome  where 
ho  wrote  his  Annals,  and  a  few  years  only  before  he  began  to  write!  But, 
if  the  principle  be  true,  that  the  testimony  of  the  eyes  is  requisite  to  know 
and  surely  transmit  historical  events,  what  credit,  we  ask,  can  possibly  be 
given  to  any  part  of  Gibbon's  work,  since  the  facts  there  recorded,  are  sup- 
posed to  have  happened  many  centuries  before  Gibbon  vvas  born  ?  What 
right  has  an  inconsistent  and  infidel  author  to  claim  the  least  reliance  on 


NOTES.  489 

his  word,  whilst  he  himself  so  boldly  discredits  the  testimony  of  a  grave, 
judicious  and  renowned  historian? 

3d.  He  appeals  to  the  well  known  moderation  of  Trajan,  Marcus  Aurelius, 
and  other  such  princes,  to  exculpate  them  from  the  guilt  of  having  been 
persecutors.  Some  of  those  emperors,  we  admit,  did  not  enact  laws  agains* 
Christianity;  but  they  at  least  suffered  the  ancient  laws  to  be  executed 
and  themselves  sometimes  carried  on  the  persecution,  as  we  learn  fron 
Eusebius  (Ecd.  Hist.  lib.  in,  iv  and  v),  St.  Justin  and  Meliton,  (in  thei 
•dpolog.),  and  Pliny  the  younger  (Epist  ad  Traj.)  Moreover,  wnat  doew 
their  supposed  moderation  prove  against  the  violence  of  the  persecutions 
raised  by  Nero.  Septimius,  and  others? 

4th.  Gibbon  insists  on  the  small  number  of  Christians  who  were  juridi- 
cally condemned.  Small  it  may  have  been,  but  how  many,  how  very 
many  more  perished  every  where,  without  the  formality  of  a  judicial  sen- 
tence, as  ancient  historians  testify  ! 

5.  He  emphatically  adduces  a  sentence  of  Origen,  which  says  that  the 
number  of  martyrs  was  inconsiderable  (  Contra  Cdsum,  lib.  in,  n,  8).  But 
he  ought  to  have  added  likewise  what  comes  next  in  Origen,  and  shows 
his  true  meaning,  viz.  that  there  always  remained  more  Christians  alive, 
than  had  perished  during  the  persecution,  "God  being  unwilling,"  says  he, 
"that  the  Christian  society  should  be  destroyed."  Hence  the  small  num- 
ber of  martyrs  spoken  of  by  this  Father,  is  to  be  understood  relatively  to 
the  number  of  the  survivors;  which  does  not  favor  the  system  of  Gibbon, 
nor  contradict  our  statement  ;  the  less  so,  as  Origen  wrote  this  before  the  per- 
secutions ofDecius,  Valerian  and  Diocletian,  the  most  cruel  and  bloody  of  all. 

6th.  Eusebius  positively  testifies  that  he  was  an  eye-witness  to  th<? 
multitude,  the  sufl'e  rings,  and  the  constancy  of  the  martyrs  of  Theba'is  and 
Egypt;  *  Gibbon  calls  the  fact  in  question—  which  of  the  two  ought  to  be 
believed  ? 

*  Gibbon,  to  elude  the  difficult}',  contents  himself  with  saying  that  the  term  used  by 
Eusobius  may  signify  either  that  he  had  seen  or  that  he  had  heard.  We  will  give  tha 
original  t<;xt,  and  place  by  its  side  the  Latin  translation  of  the  learned  Henry  de  Valois 
who  will  bo  acknowledged  to  have  known  Greek  as  well  as  Gibbon,  and  who  translates 
another  word  of  the  context  by  the  very  strong  expression,  oculis  nostris  conspeximus  : 

'IffToofiaapLBv    de    Kai   aiirol    iirl    r&v         Nos  quoque,cum  in  illis  partibus  degere- 


gin  rQs  K£<ba\r]S  diro-  nammis  traditoa  vidimus 

TTOjjieivavTas,    rouf    <J£     r?>     £10.  Quo  quidem  tempore  mirabilem  imprimis 

awoiav      .......  animi  ardorem,  verdque  divinam  virtutcrn 

'  ,'  et  alficritatem  eorum  qui  in  Christum  Dei 


Tiaw 


i/ 

....        UTS  ^rarr,v     credidcrant  oculis  nosris  conspeximils. 

•<pptv,  veiav  TS  wj  aXrjyws  tiovafjiiv  /cat 


TWV      CIS      TOV     XjStOTOJ/      TOT) 

OEOW  ir£iriffTevK6ruv  evvtwp&nw.  —  Lib. 

via.  cap.  9. 
In  the  two  following  passages,  Eusebius  has  employed  the  term  of  which  we  are 

speaking.    The  candid  reader  will  decide  on  the  meaning  of  the  author  —  In  the  first, 

speaking  of  the  statue  erected  in  Caesarea  Philippi  to  our  Saviour  by  the  woman  men- 

tioned in  the  Gospel,  he  says  : 

''Epstvs  Si  Kal  si's  fiuas,  wj  /cai  CK//CI         Mansit  porro  (the  statue)  ad  nostra  us- 

iraoaXafleiv     iirtSriufaavTas    avroiis    rij     que  tempora:  nosque   aded   urbem  illam 
,;          -if  ,   fl  „        ,,,          „        ,       mgrcssi,  ipsam  conspeximus    Nee  vero  mi- 

6\$t.     K<u  Bavftaffrdv  ovtcv  row;  TTU-     rail(lum  est  Gentiles  4  Servatore  nostro 

Aat   cf    i9vuv    £i)£pye,Tr}QivTas  xpos    rov     beneficiis  affectos  haec  praslitisse  ;  cum  e( 
ravra   irmoiriKivac   ore     Apostolorum  Petri  ac  Pauli,  ':hristique  ip 


Kdl    O.VTOV    df]    TOV 

Xpiorov,  Sia  xpundTUv  iv  ypa<paTs  crw- 
.  —  L.  VII.  Cap.  18. 


490  NOTES. 

7  Jr.  order  to  weaken  the  overwhelming  authority  of  the  same  Euseoius, 
and  also  of  Lactantius,  the  English  sophist  calls  the  former  a  courtier,  and 
the  latter  a  rhetorician ;  as  if  rhetoric  or  the  court  had  any  thing  to  do  with 
the  present  subject,  and  could  have  deprived  these  illustrious  writers  of 
their  ears,  eyes,  learning  and  judgment.  Assuredly  if  such  angry  and  pre- 
posterous accusations  be  once  admitted,  there  is  at  once  an  end  of  historical 
knowledge.  The  truth  is,  that  Gibbon,  being  an  enemy  to  the  Church  of 
Christ,  chose  rather  to  fall  into  absurdities,  than  permit  her  quietly  to  enjoy 
the  lustre  thrown  around  her  by  the  multitude  and  constancy  of  her  martyrs. 

Many  other  reprehensible  assertions  against  the  Christian  Religion,  her 
tenets  and  her  ministers,  are  to  be  found  in  the  work  of  Gibbon :  although 
they  are  equally  destitute  of  proof,  it  is  not  our  object  here  to  discuss  them. 
We  have  said  enough  to  show  that  this  author  is,  at  least  in  what  regards 
Christianity,  unworthy  of  credit,  and  a  real  infidel,  who  covers,  but  cannot 
conceal  his  hatred  against  our  holy  religion  with  the  veil  of  affected  mode- 
ration and  learning.  Hence  it  is  most  deplorable,  that  a  work  so  well  cal- 
culated to  instil  the  poison  of  scepticism  and  infidelity,  should  be  so  much 
read,  praised  and  recommended  in  Christian  and  enlightened  countries. 
Will  any  literary  advantage,  derived  from  some  beauties  of  style,  ever  com- 
pensate so  pernicious  a  result? 


NOTE  D.—  P  AGE  111 

ATTEAIPT     OF     THE     EMPEROR    JULIAN     TO     REBUILD     THE     TEMPLE    OP 
JERUSALEM. 

THAT  this  attempt  entirely  failed,  and  that  its  failure  was  not  a  natural 
event,  is  so  certain,  and  so  well  proved,  that  it  can  be  denied  only  by  one 
who  is  ready  to  deny  every  thing.  In  the  first  place,  the  fact  is  related  by 
a  great  number  of  contemporary  writers,  viz  :  St.  Gregory  Nazianzen,  in  the 
year  immediately  following  the  event,  (Oral.  v.  conlr.  Julian.  );  St.  John 
Chrysostom,  in  several  parts  of  his  works,  especially  his  first,  fifth  and  six 
Discourses  on  the  Jews,  where  he  appeals  to  eye-witnesses  yet  living;  St. 
Ambrose,  in  his  40th  Epistle,  written  A.  D.  3S8,  to  the  emperor  Theodo- 
sius;  Rufinus,  in  his  Eccles.  Hist.  (b.  i.  c.  37,  etc.);  Philostorgtus,  the 
Arian,  (b.  vir,  c.  14);  Theodoret,  the  celebrated  bishop  of  Cyre,  (6.  in, 
c.  20)  ;  Socrates,  (b.  in,  c.  20);  Sozomcn,  who  says  that  many  were  still 
alive  who  had  seen  the  splendid  prodigy,  (b.  v,  c.  22)  ;  etc. 

This  unanimous  testimony  of  the  Ecclesiastical  historians  is  corroborated 
by  that  of  the  Jews  and  gentiles.  Rabbins  Gans-Zemach  and  Gedaliah 
relate  the  fact  with"  its  principal  circumstances  ;  the  latter  especially,  is 
clear,  positive,  and  the  more  deserving  of  credit,  as  he  transcribed  what  he 
wrote  from  the  annals  of  his  nation.  Libanius,  a  friend  and  perpetual 
admirer  of  Julian,  speaks  in  two  places  of  earthquakes  and  dreadful  acci- 
dents which  had  lately  happened  in  Palestine.  Julian  himself,  in  one  oi 

The  second  passage  is  still  more  to  the  point:  relating  the  sufleriugs  of  certain  iiKJtyrs 
in  Phoenicia,  Eusebius  uses  the  following  words  : 

.   Ofc  yiywiifrof;  KOI  aiirol         Qua;  cum  gererentur,  nos  ipsi  prtcserttet 


Lojrr7f>o?  fifiiov  avTOv  d>]    li}<rou  Apiarou  tyrcg  testimonium  perhibebant,  pnesentern 

ri>  Osiav  6vvantv  ETwrapovo-av,  si/apywj  et  semetipsam  manifesto  martyribus  exhi- 

rt    afciiv    ro?ff    fiaprvviv    cjriSeiKvvffav  bentem  perspeximus  .......... 

v  .  —  Lib.  viii.  cap.  7. 


NOTES. 


491 


his  letters,  confesses  that  he  attempted  to  raise  the  Temple  of  the  Jews 
from  its  ruins,  and  cannot  help  insinuating  the  insurmountable  obstacles  he 
met  with,  which  obliged  him  to  give  up  the  enterprise. 

Above  all,  we  have  the  express  testimony  of  Ammianus  Marcellinus, 
another  heathen  and  contemporary  author,  who  writes  thus  in  the  23d 
book  of  his  History.:  "Whilst  Alypius,  assisted  by  the  governor  of  the  pro- 
vince, urged  with  -rigor  and  diligence  the  execution  of  the  work,  fearful 
balls  of  fire  frequently  breaking""  out  near  the  foundations,  several  times 
burned  or  scorched  the  workmen,  and  rendered  the  place  inaccessible. 
The  terrible  element  continuing  in  this  manner  obstinately  to  repel  every 
effort,  the  undertaking  was  abandoned."  Cum  itaque  rei  fortiter  instaret 
Alypius,  juvaretque  provincial  rector,  metuendi  -globi  flammarum  prope 
fundamenta.  crebris  assultibus  erumpentes  fecere  locum,  exustis  aliquoties 
operantibus,  inaccessum;  hocque  modo  elcmento  destinatius  repellcnte,  ces- 
ravit  inceptum. — Arnm.  lib.  xxin,  c.  1. 

To  such  a  mass  of  evidence  what  can  be  opposed,  and  what  is  really 
opposed  by  Gibbon  and  other  infidels  ?  Do  they  adduce  against  the  fact 
just  related,  any  thing,  I  do  not  say  evident,  but  even  plausible;  for  in- 
stance, the  contradictory  statement  of  some  historians  worthy  of  credit? 
By  no  means ;  they  merely  appeal  to  the  silence  of  some  ancient  authors 
who  thought  it  unnecessary  to  mention  the  wonderful  event.  But,  when 
was  it  ever  admitted  that  the  silence  of  a  few,  and  even  of  many,  could 
destroy  or  even  wreaken  the  positive  asseveration  of  others  among  whom 
collusion  was  utterly  impossible,  of  numerous  and  learned,  contemporary 
and  unexceptionable  vouchers?  What  can  we  believe  in  the  annals  of 
nations,  in  the  transactions  of  human  life,  in  courts  of  judicature,  etc.  if  in 
order  to  obtain  sufficient  evidence  of  a  fact,  the  express  attestation  of  innu- 
merable persons  is  required?  This  is  certainly  a  strange  rule  of  criticism. 
Nor  is  there  less  fallacy  ami  absurdity  in  the  affected  doubts  of  our  modern 
infidels,  in  their  usual  resource  of  a  may-be  or  perhaps,  in  their  vague 
charges  of  exaggeration,  fanaticism,  Christian  credulity,  and  the  like  :— 
what  have  such  charges  to  do  with  an  event  equally  important  and  noto- 
rious, with  a  fact  openly  proclaimed  and  recorded  by  a  multitude  of  wri- 
ters, at  a  time  when  innumerable  witnesses  were  still  alive,  and  when,  had 
it  riot  really  taken  place,  it  would  have  been  related  by  none,  by  none  have 
been  believed? 

Let  us  then  conclude,  with  the  learned  Warburton,  in  his  dissertation  on 
this  subject,  that  the  defeat  of  Julian's  attempt  by  fire  and  earthquakes, 
stands  forth  in  a  full  blaze  of  evidence,  and  is  as  incontestable  as  any  event 
mentioned  in  history.  Either  it  must  be  admitted,  or  we  must  fall  into  the 
most  extravagant  scepticism,  and  reject  altogether  the  exploits  and  con- 
quests of  Alexander,  Julius  Csesar,  Charlemagne,  etc.,  which  indeed  are 
not  so  wrell  substantiated  as  the  event  in  question. 

But  if,  admitting  the  existence  of  the  fact,  infidels  deny,  or  like  the 
same  Gibbon,  call  in  question  its  being  a  real  miracle,  this  new  paradox  is 
as  easily  refuted  as  the  former.  For  it  is  impossible  that  any  sincere 
mind  should  not  perceive  a  supernatural  intervention  of  God,  and  a  deroga- 
tion from  the  ordinary  laws  of  this  visible  world,  in  the  event  now  before 
us,  whether  we  consider  it  in  its  moral  or  in  its  physical  circumstances 

In  the  first  place,  it  is  true  that  earthquakes  and  the  eruption  of  volcanic 
fire  are  commonly  the  mere  consequences  of  the  ordinary  laws  of  nature, 
and  do  not,  of  themselves,  suppose  or  demonstrate  any  particular  design  of 
the  providence  of  God.  But,  when  these  various  phenomena  come  all 
together  and  unexpectedly,  just  at  the  moment  in  which  a  great  and  reli- 
gious object  is  to  be  obtained,  or  an  impious  attempt  to  be  defeated,  there 
can  be  no  doubt  that  they  are  a  special  manifestation  of  the  divine  will  and 


492  NOTES. 

power,  expressly  made  by  the  Almighty  for  the  above  purposes.  To  deny 
this,  would  be  to  deny  the  wisdom  arid  providence  of  God  in  the  moral 
government  of  the  world,  and,  with  equal  impiety  and  absurdity,  to  substi- 
tute in  their  stead  a  ridiculous  chance  or  a  blind  necessity. 

These  evident  truths  being  presupposed,  let  us  examine  the  peculiar  ten- 
dency and  circumstances  of  Julian's  exertions  towards  the  rebuilding  of  Ihe 
Jewish  Temple.  Since  its  irreparable  and  entire  overthrow  had  been  fore- 
told both  in  the  Old  and  New  Testament,  Julian,  by  undertaking  to  rebuild 
it.  bade  defiance  to  Heaven  itself,  and  was  inclined,  could  he  once  succeed, 
to  bring  the  charge  of  falsehood  and  imposture  on  those  sacred  prophecies. 
If  then  Almighty  God,  just  at  the  moment  when  the  intended  work  was  to 
be  begun,  prevented  it  by  awful  earthquakes  and  eruptions  of  fire,  though 
these  effects  might,  to  some,  appear  natural  in  themselves,  who  can  doubt 
but  that  so  singular  a  concurrence  of  the  malicious  attempt  and  the  obsta- 
cles opposed  to  it,  should  be  attributed  to  a  supernatural  intervention  ?  "What 
sincere  mind  will  not,  on  beholding  the  Christian  religion,  as  it  were,  pro- 
tected by  the  very  elements,  conclude. that  the  Sovereign  Lord  of  nature  is 
also  the  founder  and  preserver  of  Christianity? 

Moreover,  all  the  physical  circumstances  which  accompanied  the  event, 
concurred  to  prove  it  a  real  and  most  splendid  miracle.  Independently  of 
the  fact  that  there  had  never  been  a  volcano  in  Palestine,  we  learn  from 
Ammianus  Marcellinus  that  the  balls  of  fire  came  out  of  the  earth  near  the 
foundations  of  the  Temple — at  repeated  times — with  a  sort  of  deliberate 
intention  to  subdue  the  persevering  obstinacy  of  the  workmen,  and,  after 
consuming  several  of  them,  rendered  the  place  inaccessible.  According 
to  Rabbin  Gedaliah,  a  great  earthquake  took  place,  and  a  terrible  fire 
melted  the  iron  instruments,  and  burned  a  great  number  of  Jews.  Accord- 
ing to  Rufinus  and  Theodoret,  porticos  under  which  the  workmen  retired, 
fell  by  the  violence  of  the  earthquake,  and  crushed  them  to  death,  whilst 
others  were  devoured  by  fire  on  the  site  of  the  Temple.  According  to  St. 
Gregory  Nazianzen,  Socrates,  Sozomen,  etc.  a  brilliant  cross  appeared  in 
the  sky,  and  smaller  crosses  were  imprinted  on  the  garments  of  the  specta- 
tors, etc. 

Who  will  not  acknowledge  in  all  this  something  manifestly  above  the  laws 
of  nature?  "Who  can  explain,  by  those  laws,  why  the  balls  of  fire  burst 
forth  from  the  foundations,  at  the  very  moment  when  the  work  was 
begun,  and  whenever  it  was  resumed;  why  the  destructive  element  di- 
rected its  whole  fury  against  the  workmen  and  the  Jews,  and  not  against 
other  persons;  and  why  it  did  not  cease  its  attacks,  until  the  enterprise 
was  entirely  abandoned?  How  did  it  happen  that  the  shaking  of  the 
earth,  overthrew  the  porticos,  where  many  workmen  were  assembled,  and 
not  other  buildings  in  the  city  ?  Why  no  fissures  and  chasms  were  left  in 
the  ground,  like  those  formed  by  natural  earthquakes  and  volcanoes !  Why 
those  crosses,  great  and  small,' etc.  etc.  Did  nature  ever  produce  effects 
like  these  ?  Was  not  the  finger  of  God  visible  in  every  circumstance  oi 
this  awful  event;  and  does  not  the  man  who  voluntarily  shuts  his  eyes 
against  such  light,  deserve  to  be  r>-;undoned  with  the  Apostate  Julian  to  his 
own  obduracy,  as  to  an  equally  just  and  rigorous  punishment? 


NOTES.  493 


NOTE  E.— PAGE   165 

MAHOMET'S  PRETENDED  MIRACLES. 


ALTHOUGH  Mahomet,  on  several  occasions,  disclaimed  the  power  of 
working  miracles,  stiil  he  maintained  that  Almighty  did  wonderful  things 
in  his  favor,  and  his  followers  also  ascribe  to  him  a  great  number  of  piodi- 
gies  of  the  most  extraordinary  nature;  for  instance,  that  the  moon  was 
divided  into  two  parts,  one  of  which  came  down  into  the  sleeve  of  their 
prophet,  by  whom  it  was  sent. back  to  heaven; — that  fountains  sprung 
forth  from  his  ringers,  &c.;  but,  who  does  not  see  that  all  these  things  are 
mere  'stories,  unworthy  of  hawng  the  God  of  majesty  for  their  author, 
besides  being  totally  unsupported  by  credible  testimonies  or  by  any  proof 
whatever?  For,  they  were  either  blindly  adopted  upon  the  bare  word  of 
Mahomet,  or  forged  "only  after  his  death;  most  of  them  not  being  found 
even  in  the  Koran,  but  in  the  Sonna,  a  fabulous  and  ridiculous  record  of 
somewhat  later  date,  which  holds  among  the  Mussulmans  the  same  stand 
ing  that  the  Talmud  holds  among  the  Jews. 

The  most  famous  of  those  prodigies  is  the  voyage  of  Mahomet  to  the 
highest  heaven.  Of  this  he  continually  boasted ;  this  he  adduced  as  the 
strongest  proof  of  his  favor  with  God,  and,  after  his  example,  several 
Arabian  authors  relate  it  with  the  utmost  gravity. 

They  say  that,  during  a  certain  night,  the  wonderful  mare  Al-Borak, 
upon  which  the  ancient  prophets  usually  rode,  transported  Mahomet  from 
Mecca  to  Jerusalem,  whence  he  was,  by  the  help  of  the  Archangel  Gabriel 
and  of  a  ladder  of  light,  taken  up,  through  an  immense  distance,  to  the 
summit  of  heaven,  before  the  throne  of  the  Almighty,  there  to  receive  his 
instructions  from  God  himself.  Most  admirable  were  the  things  which  he 
Daw  in  his  journey  thither,  and  on  his  way  back ;  among  others ;  1st,  the 
stars  as  big  as  the  mountains  of  Arabia,  and  fastened  to  the  first  heaven  by 
golden  chains,  (which  shows,  by  the  by,  how  learned  a  scholar  and  astro- 
nomer Mahomet  was!)  2d,  a  cock,  whose  head  reached  the  second  heaven, 
though  distant  from  the  first  where  the  cock  stood,  about  ten  or  twelve 
times  the  distance  from  the  moon  to  the  earth ;  3d,  an  angel  so  tall  and 
large,  that  it  would  have  taken  seventy  thousand  days  to  walk  from  one  of 
his  eyes  to  the  other ;  4th,  another  angel  who  had  seventy  thousand  heads, 
each  head  having  seventy  thousand  faces;  each  face,  seventy  thousand 
mouths ;  each  mouth,  seventy  thousand  tongues  ;  and  each  tongue  being 
able  to  speak  seventy  thousand  languages,  of  which  he  made  use  to  praise 
Almighty  God,  etc.  Mahomet  returned  iti  the  same  manner,  and  with  the 
same  rapidity  in  which  he  had  gone  to  heaven,  the  whole  voyage  having 
been  completed  in  the  short  space  of  a  few  hours.  (See  Unwers.  Hist. 
composed  by  a  body  of  learned  Englishmen,  Parts  edit.  1782,  vol.  XLI,  pp. 
92 — 116,  where  are  found  references  to  numberless  writers,  Abulfeda, 
Gagnier,  Prideaux,  etc. — Anquetil,  Precis  de  I'Histoire  Unwers.,  vol.  iv. 
inSvo.  pp.  249—253). 

Tales,  not  only  so  unworthy  in  every  respect  of  being  compared  with 
tiie  miracles  of  Christ  and  his  disciples,  but  even  so  ridiculous  and  absurd, 
found  admirers  among  the  enthusiastic  Arabs,  Still,  it  must  be  observed 
that  they  were  not  believed  by  all  the  Mahometans  ;  nor  did  the  followers 
of  Mahomet  support  their  preaching  by  the  authority  of  his  pretended  mira- 
cles, but  by  force  of  arms.  The  use  of  their  swords,  aided  on  one  side  by 
the  impulse  of  ambition,  corrupt  nature  and  fanaticism,  on  the  other,  by 

42 


494  JNOTFS. 

the  weakness  of  the  Greek  and  Persian  empires  at  that  period,  was  the 
real  and  only  cause  of  the  rapid  progress  of  their  religion.  (See  again 
Univers.  Hist,  same  vol.  XLI,  pp.  45, 46 : — tinnales  du  moyen  age,  vol.  rv,  last 
pages; — Lebeau,  Hist,  du  Bas  Empire,  b.  58,  n.  31,  32;  Bergier,  Diction, 
de  theol.  art,  Mahometisme) . 

As  to  the  Koran,  which  the  Mussulmans  give  also  as  a  proof  of  the 
divine  mission  of  their  prophet,  we  have  already  observed  that,  with  the 
exception  of  a  glowing  style  and  some  beautiful  moral  maxims,  it  is,  ac- 
cording to  all  persons  of  good  sense,  nothing  but  a  miserable  rhapsody. 
The  Mahometan  doctors  themselves  confess  that  it  is  full  of  perplexing 
difficulties  and  contradictions,  which  they  endeavor  to  reconcile  by  admit- 
ting a  distinction  between  its  various  articles,  sorne,  they  say,  being  abro 
gatea,  and  some  being  destined  to  abrogate  the  ottiers;  but,  unfortunately 
for  their  purpose,  the  abrogating  articles,  instead  of  being,  as  they  certainly 
ought  to  be,  later,  are  on  the  contrary  more  ancient  than  those  to  be  abro- 
gated. 


NOTE  F—  PAGE  183. 

ANSWER   OF    POPE    ZACHARY    TO   A    CONSULTATION    OF    THE    FRENCH. 


BY  some  authors  and  critics  of  later  times  (Le  Cointe,  Ann.  Francor.; — 
Feller,  art.  Childeric  111;— Be"raut-Bercastel,  ad.  ann.  752,  etc.],  the  fact  of 
Pope  Zachary  being  consulted  about  the  accession  of  Pepin,  has  been 
called  in  question,  but  we  think  without  sufficient  reason.  It  is  thus  rela- 
ted by  Eginhard,  an  almost  contemporary  writer:  "Burcard  (a  bishop) 
and  Fulrad  (first  chaplain  of  the  palace),  were  sent  to  Rome,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  consulting  Pope  Zachary  concerning  the  kings  who  were  then  in 
France,  and  who,  having  merely  the  name  of  kings,  did  not  enjoy  any  por- 
tion of  the  royal  power.  The  answer  was :  '  It  were  better  that  he  should 
be  king,  in  whom  the  sovereign  authority  resided.' — Missi  sunt  Burcardas 
et  Folradus  Roman  ad  Zachariam,  ut  consulerent  Pontificem  de  causa 
regum  qui  illo  tempore  fuerunt  in  Francia,  qui  nomen  tantum  regis,  sed 
nullam  potestatum  regiam  habuerunt;  secutum  est  responsum:  melifts  esse 
ilium  regem,  apud  quern  summa  potestatis  consisteret.  Eginhard.  Annul. 
Franc.  The  same  is  recorded  in  substance  by  the  authors  of  many  annals 
of  those  times,  Fuld.,  Helens.,  etc.;  by  the  continuator  of  Fredegaire  and 
others  (apud  Duchesne,  vol.  \.  pp.  773,  796).  From  these  it  plainly  appears 
that  the  fact  in  question  is  expressly  asserted  by  a  great  number  of  contem- 
porary or  nearly  contemporary  writers.  To  reject  the  unanimous  testi- 
mony of  so  many  and  so  respectable  annalists,  seems  to  be  rather  unreason- 
able criticism,  there  being  no  certain  proof  of  their  having  wanted  either 
sincerity  or  correct  information  on  that  point. 

This  being  presupposed,  it  would  be  still  more  unjust  to  blame  the 
answer  of  Pope  Zachary.  In  fact,  no  one  can  fairly  doubt  that,  among  the 
northern  nations  of  Europe,  the  crown  was  originally  elective,  as  Robert- 
son has  well  proved  in  his  preliminary  discourse'on  the  history  of  Scotland. 
It  had  indeed  become  hereditary  among  the  French,  owing  to  the  uncom- 
mon ability  of  their  first  leaders;  but,  since  the  last  kings  of  the  family  of 
Clovis  had,  by  their  indolence  and  incapacity,  brought  contempt  upon  them- 
selves, it  was  natural  to  expect  that  the  French  lords,  in  order  to  procure  a 
worthy  sovereign  to  the  nation,  would  revive  the  ancient  mode  of  succes- 
sion to  the  throne. 


NOTES.  495 

On  the  other  hand,  the  exercise  of  the  royal  authority  had,  for  a  long 
series  of  years,  entirely  devolved  on  the  French  dukes  of  Pepin's  family  : 
they  alone  carried  the  whole  burden  and  discharged  all  the  duties  of  sove- 
reignty at  home  and  abroad;  whereas  the  last  Merovingian  kings  had 
accustomed  themselves,  generally  speaking,  to  be  satisfied  with  the  easier 
duty  of  managing  their  private  household.  This  was  an  excellent 
reason  for  the  French  to  resume,  under  these  circumstances,  the  ancient 
mode  of  electing  their  sovereigns,  which  had  not  yet  suffered  a  very  long 
interruption,  and,  by  a  very  proper  use  of  their  right,  to  confer  the  royal 
title  and  prerogatives  on  such  persons  among  them  as  exercised  the  royal 
power  with  so  much  glory  and  utility  for  the  state.  Since,  moreover,  the 
whole  nation  professed  an  explicit  attachment  and  respect  for  the  Apostolic 
See,  it  was  likewise  the  duty  and  the  interest  of  Pepin  to  have  his  election 
confirmed  by  the  Pope. 

Zachary,  in  his  answer,  did  not  endanger  the  laws  of  wisdom  and  justice. 
In  declaring  that  it  was  better  to  confer  the  title  of  king  on  that  person 
who  was  already  in  possession  of  the  sovereign  authority,  he  merely  ex- 
pressed a  fact  and  a  maxim  which,  far  from  disturbing  the  good  order  of 
the  state,  tended  to  re-establish  it  by  the  adoption  of  a  measure  equally 
prudent  and  decisive  :  "melius  esse  ilium  (vocari)  regem,  apud  quern  suiiima 
potestatis  consistent."  Had  the  decision  of  the  Pope  and  the  conduct  of 
Pepin  left  every  thing  as  before,  there  would  have  remained  in  France, 
two  sovereigns,  the  one  nominal,  the  other  real,  contrary  to  the  fundamental 
laws  of  that  kingdom  and  to  the  just  wishes  of  the  nation. 


NOTE  G.  — PAGE  185. 

TEMPORAL    DOMINION    OF    THE    POPE. 


AMONG  the  different  temporal  sovereignties  which  exist  in  the  world, 
there  is  none  so  evidently  irreproachable  in  its  origin  and  formation,  as  that 
of  the  Pope.  Here  we  see  neither  artful  intrigues,  nor  sedition  and  revolt, 
nor  unjust  attacks  and  usurpation ;  but  we  behold  the  liberality  of  Chris- 
tian kings  and  emperors,  united  with  a  series  of  singular  events,  whose 
coincidence  led  the  way  to  the  addition  of  temporal  power  to  the  spiritual 
authority  which  the  Sovereign  Pontiff  had  always  exercised. 

It  is  a  fact  of  public  notoriety,  and  placed  beyond  the  possibility  of  a 
doubt,  that  the  Popes,  for  many  years,  and  especially  in  the  first  part  of 
the  eighth  century,  made  every  exertion  to  preserve  to  the  court  of  Con- 
stantinople its  possessions  in  the  West,  (see  Anastasius,  in  Pap.  Greg. 
11.  et  Stepfi.  II;  Thomassin.  Discipl.  de  I'Egl.  part  in,  book  i,  c.  29,  vol. 
in,  pp.  199,  et  seq.)  They  incessantly  endeavored,  by  the  exercise  of  their 
great  influence,  to  maintain  the  Italians  in  their  allegiance  to  the  Greek 
emperors,  and,  by  embassies  and  entreaties,  to  procure  from  the  Greek 
emperors  the  assistance  which  the  Italians  needed  in  order  to  repel  the 
repeated  attacks  of  the  Lombards.  But  those  blind  and  wicked  princes, 
instead  of  affording  the  relief  so  much  desired,  rather  increased  the  public 
misery  by  tyranny  and  oppression. 

Thus,  finding  implacable  enemies  both  in  the  barbarians  and  in  their 
own  sovereigns,  the  people,  driven  almost  to  despair,  began  to  sigh  ardently 
after  a  new  and  better  order  of  things.  The  eyes  of  all  were  turned  to- 

•       .«        «%  .1      •  i  r*t    AT _ __    r-j.i _^r  _n    •       .i* 


wards 
tress 


Is  the  Pope,  as  their  only  refuge  and  the  common  father  of  all  in  dia- 
.    In  this  state  of  desolation,  the  Sovereign  Pontiffs,  unable  any  longer 


496  NOTES. 

to  resist  the  eargerness  of  multitudes  flying  into  their  arms  ibr  protection 
and  refuge,  and  destitute  of  every  other  means,  applied  to  the  French,  who 
alone  were  both  willing  and  able  to  defend  them  against  the  Lombards. 

The  sequel  is  known;  and  we  shall  not  repeat  here  what  Pepin  and 
Charlemagne  did  for  the  people  of  Rome,  and  especially  for  the  Pope  with 
regard  to^his  temporal  dominion;  but  we  will  ask,  what  can  we  find  to 
censure  either  in  the  conduct  of  the  French  monarch,  or  in  that  of  the 
Roman  people?  *  It  is  a  principle  laid  down  by  civilians,  and  founded  on 
the  law  of  nations,  that  he  who  conquers  a  country  in  a  just  war  not  under- 
taken for  the  former  possessors  nor  in  union  with  them,  is  not  bound  to 
restore  to  them  what  they  would  not,  or  could  not,  protect  and  secure. 
Such  exactly  was  the  case  with  Italy  at  that  time.  The  Greeks  had  lost 
their  right  to  their  possessions  in  that  country,  by  suffering  them  to  be  taken 
or  laid  waste  by  the  Lombards,  without  sending  succor  to  defend  and  pro- 
tect them.  Those  countries,  therefore,  by  the  claim  of  conquest  in  a  just 
war,  belonged  to  Pepin  and  Charlemagne,  who  bestowed  them  on  the 
Pones.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Roman  people,  abandoned  to  barbarians, 
han  a  right,  when  the  Greeks  refused  to  afford  them  relief,  to  seek  it  froia 
others,  and  form  themselves  into  a  new  form  of  government.  This  they 
did,  by  choosing,  under  the  protection  of  the  French,  to  be  governed  by 
him  who,  besides  being  the  common  father  of  the  faithful,  had  been  their 
only  support  in  their  distress. 

"II  n'y  a  rien,"  says  Count  de  Maistre,  "de  si  e'videmment  juste  dans 
son  origine  que  cette  souverainete"  extraordinaire.  L'incapacite",  la  bas- 
sesse,  la  ferocite*  des  souverains  qui  la  pre'ce'derent;  1'insupportable  tyran- 
nic exerce"e  sur  les  biens,  les  personnes  et  la  conscience  des  peuples;  1'aban- 
don  formel  de  ces  memes  peuples  livrds  sans  defense  a  d'irnpitoyables  bar- 
bares;  le  cri  de  1'occident  qui  abdique  1'ancien  maitre;  la  nouvelle  souve- 
rainete' qui  s'dleve,  s'avance  et  se  substitue  a  1'ancienne  sans  secousse,  sans 
rtvolte,  sans  effusion  de  sang,  pouss^e  par  une  force  cached,  inexplicable, 
invincible,  et  jurant  foi  et  fide'lite'  jusqu'au  dernier  instant  a  la  faible  et 
me'prisable  puissance  qu'elle  allait  reraplacer;  le  droit  de  conqufete  enfin, 
obtenu,  et  solennellement  c6dd  par  1'un  des  plus  grands  homines  qui  aient 
existe,  par  un  homme  si  grand  que  la  grandeur  a  pe'ne'tre'  son  nom,  et  que 
la  voix  du  genre  humain  I'a  proclame'  grandeur  au  lieu  de  grand :  tels  sont 
les  titres  des  Papes,  et  1'histoire  ne  prdsente  rien  de  semblable."  (Du 
Pape,  vol.  i,  Liv.  n,  ch.  vi). 

This  truth  is  expressed  in  a  recent  history  of  the  Greek  empire,  with 
the  same  elegance,  perspicuity  and  energy  of  style,  as  follows:  "A  quel 
titre  Copronyme  revendiquait-il  une  souverainete*  abandonne"e,  ou  quels 
droits  pre"tendait-il  conserver  sur  des  peuples  de'laisse's,  qui  des  long- 
temps  ne  connaissaient  plus  1'autorite"  impe"riale  ni  par  sa  protection  ni  par 
ses  bienfaits?  Les  empereurs  avaient  abandonne"  Rome  aux  barbares;  et 
qui  1'avait  ddfendue,  qui  1'avait  sauvde  ?  L'histoire  nornme  Le"on,  Gre"goire, 
ou  quelqu'autre  de  leurs  successeurs;  et  les  peuples  avaient  reconnu  pour 
maitres  ceux  qui  s'eHaient  montres  leurs  peres.  La  puissance  des  Papea 
6tait  un  fait,  quand  Pe"pin  la  reconnut  comme  un  droit;  et  jamais  souve- 
rainete' n'eut  une  origine  plus  juste  et  plus  sainte."  (Hist,  du  Bas-Emp* 
s,  1338.  vol.  i,  pp.  272,  273.) 


NOTES.  497 


NOTE  H.— PAGE  251. 

POPES  OF  THE  MIDDLE  AGES. 


NOTHING  in  the  history  of  the  middle  ages  has  been  more  frequently 
misrepresented  and  more  grossly  calumniated,  yet  nothing  is  more  worthy 
of  admiration,  than  the  conduct  of  the  Popes  in  the  long  struggle  which 
they  maintained  against  the  depravity  and  tyranny  of  princes,  in  defence  of 
religion  and  social  order.  It  was  truly  the  struggle  of  virtue  against  vice, 
of  civilization  against  barbarism,  of  Christianity  against  the  powers  of  dark- 
ness. At  that  time,  whether  the  evil  was  owing  to  the  invasions  of  new 
barbarians,  to  the  feudal  system,  or  to  other  causes ;  national  and  civil  wars 
scarcely  ceased  one  moment  to  lay  waste  the  whole  face  of  Europe. 
Nations  oppressed  by  their  sovereigns  had  no  other  resource  than  the  pro- 
tection of  the  Pope,  and  sovereigns  who  wished  to  act  as  tyrants,  had  no  other 
check  than  his  authority,  which  they  generally  acknowledged,  not  only  in 
spiritual,  but  also  in  temporal  concerns.  The  Pope  then,  in  his  proceed- 
ings against  several  emperors  of  Germany  and  some  other  princes,  besides 
acting  conformably  to  the  common  jurisprudence  of  those  times,  merely  did 
what  the  state  of  society  and  the  circumstances  in  which  he  was  placed, 
evidently  required  of  him  as  the  head  of  the  Christian  family,  and  the 
common  father  of  all  the  faithful. 

The  better  to  understand  this,  we  should  revert  to  the  epoch  in  which 
these. important  transactions  took  place.  At  a  time  when  the  nations  of 
Europe  closely  adhered  to  the  ancient  faith,  and  preferred  it  to  every  thing 
else,  the  profession  of  Christianity  and  submission  to  the  Roman  Churcn 
were  conditions  absolutely  requisite  in  sovereigns,  to  exact  and  enforce 
obedience  from  their  subjects.  If  a  prince  happened  to  revolt  openly 
against  the  Catholic  religion,  or  to  incur,  by  his  crimes,  the  penalty  of  ex- 
communication, it  was  the  prevailing  opinion  that  the  oath  of  allegiance 
taken  to  him  was  no  longer  binding,  since  he  had  ceased  to  be  the  reli- 
gious prince  whom  the  nation  had  intended  to  acknowledge  for  its  mon- 
arch.* "Thus,"  says  Schlegel,  "  we  hear  the  Saxons  declare  to  the  empe- 
ror Henry  IV,  that,  the  Christian  name  being  profaned  by  him,  they  were 
unwilling  to  disgrace  themselves  by  having  intercourse  with  a  prince  who 
insulted  and  despised  the  religion  of  Christ;  and,  since  they  had  sworn 
fealty  to  him,  on  condition  that  he  should  reign  for  the  edification  and  not 
for  the  destruction  of  the  Church,  were  he  to  infringe  this  duty,  they  would 
think  themselves  no  longer  bound  by  their  oath  of  allegiance  to  him. 
Shortly  after,  the  same  Saxons  wjote  to  the  Pope,  to  lay  before  his  tribunal 
both  their  grievances  and  the  crimes  of  Henry,  and  concluded  their  letter 

*  This  is  very  well  explained  by  Fenclon,  who  says :  "  Sensim  Catholicarum  gentium 
haec  fuit  sententia  aniniis  alte  impressa,  scilicet,  supremam  potestatem  committt  non 
posse  nisi  principi  Catholico,  eamque  esse  legem  sive  conditionem  appositam  populos 
inter  et  principem,  ut  populi  principi  fideles  parerent,  modd  princeps  ipse  Catholicae  reli- 
gioni  obsequeretur.  Q.U&  lege  posita,  putabant  omnes  solutum  esse  vinculum  sacrament! 
fidelitatis  a  tola  gente  prastitum,  simul  atque  princeps,  ea  lege  violata,  Catholics  reli- 
gioni  eontumaci  animo  resisteret." 

Again  :  "  Nihil  est  mirum  si  gentes  Catholicae  religioni  quara  maximS  addicte,  princi- 
pis  excommuriicati  jugum  excuterent.  Ea  enim  lege  sese  principi  subditas  fore  pollicita 
erant,  ut  princeps  ipse  Catholicce  religioni  pariter  subditus  esset.  Princeps  verd  qui,  ob 
)ia  icsim,  vel  ob  facinorosam  et  impiam  regni  administrationem,  ab  EcclesiA  excommuni- 
catur,  jam  non  censetur  phis  ille  princeps,  cui  tota  gens  sese  committere  voluerat :  und« 
aolutum  sacramenti  vinculum  arbitrabaiitur."  'Fcndon,  Dissert,  de  auctoritate  Summt 
is,c.  xxxix). 

42* 


498  NOTES. 

by  saying  that,  such  a  prince  being  unworthy  of  the  throne,  they  therefore 
requested  the  Sovereign  Pontiff  to  make  use  of  the  authority  which  he  had 
over  the  empire,  and,  through  an  assembly  of  the  princes,  to  procure  for 

I  hem  a  worthier  and  better  monarch." 

"Not  long  before  this,  the  emperor  Henry  III  had  expressly  acknow- 
ledged the  Church  jurisdiction,  even  in  temporal  affairs,  when  he  wished 
to  oppose  the  rising  pretensions  of  the  king  of  Castile  to  the  title  of  empe- 
ror. He  referred  the  case  to  a  council  in  which  the  legate  of  Pope  Victor 

II  presided,  (A.  D.  1055).     The  result  of  the  consultation  being  sent  to 
Rome,  a  sentence  was  passed;  and  King  Ferdinand  declared,  in  presence 
of  the  papal  envoys,  that  he  submitted  to  the  decision  of  the  Roman  Pon- 
tiff.    Hence,  the  high  authority  which  Rome  then  exercised  over  kings 
and  emperors,  was  grounded,  first,  on  a  political  claim  growing  out  of  the 
circumstances  which  accompanied  the  revival  of  the  western  empire ;  and 
secondly,  on  the  general  opinion  of  that  time  respecting  the  subordination 
of  the  temporal  to  the  spiritual  power."  (Schlegel,  Phtios.  II.  p.  137;  Theo- 
rie  soriale  de  VEvangile ;  Memorial  Caihol.  vol.  II.  p.  375). 

"This  doctrine,"  says  Dr.  Lingard,  "hostile  as  it  might  be  to  the  inde- 
pendence of  sovereigns,  was  often  supported  by  the  sovereigns  themselves. 
Thus,  when  Richard  I  was  held  in  captivity  by  the  emperor,  his  mother, 
Eleanor,  repeatedly  solicited  the  Pontiff  to  procure  his  liberation  by  the 
exercise  of  that  authority  which  he  possessed  over  all  temporal  princes. 
Thus,  King  John  Lack-land  ( whose  excesses  afterwards  provoked  against 
himself  the  animadversion  of  the  Church)  invoked  the  aid  of  the  same 
authority  to  recover  Normandy  from  the  king  of  France.  At  first,  indeed 
the  Popes  contented  themselves  with  spiritual  censures:  but  in  an  age, 
when  all  notions  of  justice  were  modelled  after  the  feudal  jurisprudence,  it 
was  soon  admitted  that  princes  by  their  disobedience  became  traitors  to 
God :  that  as  traitors  they  ought  to  forfeit  their  kingdoms,  the  fees  which 
they  held  of  God:  and  that  to  pronounce  such  sentence  belonged  to  the 
Pontiff,  the  vicegerent  of  Christ  upon  earth."  (Lingard's  Hist,  of  Engl. 
vol.  in,  of  the  third  London  edition,  p.  35,  note). 

It  was  in  virtue  of  these  and  the  like  principles,  as  the  same  historian 
relates,  that  Pope  Innocent  III  did  against  King  John  Lack-land  what  St. 
Gregory  VII  had  done  against  the  Emperor  Henry  IV,  when,  solicited  by 
Englishmen  themselves,  and  moved  by  the  recital  of  the  repeated  crimes 
and  enormities  of  their  sovereign,  he  absolved  them  from  their  oaths  of 
fealty.  This  he  did  however,  as  the  sequel  showed,  rather  with  the  secret 
intention  of  terrifying  the  king,  and  bringing  him  back  to  a  sense  of  his 
duty,  than  with  a  real  determination  to  ruin  him  for  ever. 

From  these  examples  and  testimonies,  to  which  others  might  be  added, 
we  may  form  an  accurate  idea  of  the  temporal  power  occasionally  exer- 
cised by  the  Popes  during  the  middle  ages.  They  exercised  it  with  the 
implicit  consent  of  the  sovereigns  themselves,  who  frequently  appealed  to 
the  decisions  of  Rome  in  their  temporal  debates,  and  none  of  whom  scarcely 
eve*  complained,  except  (as  was  natural)  the  individual  affected  by  the 
sentence.  They  exercised  it  only  against  sovereigns  who  depended,  more 
or  less,  on  the  free  choice  of  their  nation  and  the  acknowledgment  of  the 
Holy  See,  as  was  particularly  the  case  with  the  German  emperors.  They 
exercised  it  only  in  cases  of  paramount  necessity,  and  after  every  other 
means,  such  as  exhortations  and  remonstrances,  had  proved  fruitless.  They 
exercised  it  for  the  interest  of  the  people  and  of  society,  at  the  request  of 
the  people  themselves,  and  upon  their  earnest  entreaties  to  be  delirered 
from  the  sway  of  wicked,  impious  and  tyrannical  princes;  but  nerer 
through  caprice,  nor  for  personal  interest:  on  the  contrary,  those  courageous 
•uid  zealous  Pontiffs,  a  Gregory,  an  Alexander,  an  Innocent,  etc.,  saw  before 


NOTES.  499 

them  the  prospect  of  sufferings,  and  of  every  kind  of  obstacles  and  dangers, 
which  they  had  to  encounter  lor  the  faithful  discharge  of  their  duty. 

Some  Popes,  it  is  true  (though  few  in  number),  went  farther,  and. 
acting  in  their  secondary  quality  of  temporal  princes,  raised  troops,  and 
took  a  more  or  less  active  share  in  the  military  operations  of  other  sove- 
reigns. But,  even  that  step  was  taken  by  them  for  laudable,  nay,  for 
necessary  purposes ;  viz.  to  recover  or  defend  their  own  provinces,  to  repel 
unjust  attacks,  to  support  the  independence  of  the  Italian  republics,  and 
particularly  co  check  the  alarming  progress  of  the  Mussulmans.  Can  any 
fault  be  found  with  such  conduct ;  and  does  it  not  rather  afford  a  new  proof 
of  the  truth,  that  the  Popes  have  been  the  preservers  of  civilization  and 
social  order,  as  well  as  of  religion,  in  Europe  ?  This  indeed  was  the  grand 
object  which  they  had  in  view,  and  the  end  at  which  they  continually 
aimed  in  the  exercise  of  both  their  temporal  and  spiritual  power.  Having 
well  understood  the  sublime  office  which  they  were  called  to  perform,  they 
discharged  it  with  wonderful  zeal  and  fidelity  for  the  advancement  of  moral 
and  religious  principles.  They  protected  the  weak  against  their  oppres- 
sors ;  they  restored  peace  and  tranquillity  among  nations ;  and,  preventing 
the  execution  of  wicked  designs,  they  saved  rising  states  and  societies  from 
the  attacks  of  ambition,  barbarity  and  licentiousness.  Hence,  in  reading 
the  history  of  the  middle  ages,  it  is  impossible  for  a  reflecting  mind  not  to 
be  struck  with  admiration  at  the  sight  of  Christian  Europe  devoted  to  one 
form  of  worship,  ruled  by  one  grand  principle,  forming,  as  it  were,  but  one 
empire,  and  acknowledging  one  supreme  head  whose  exalted  duty  it  was  to 
promote  the  reign  of  the  gospel  upon  earth.  (See  Michaut,  Histoire  des 
Croisades,  vol.  iv,  pp.  98,  99 ; — Count  de  Maistre,  Du  Pape,  part  n,  c.  v,  x). 

Not  bitter  censure,  therefore,  but  real  praise  is  due  to  the  exertions  of 
the  Popes,  and  to  their  acts  of  authority  with  regard  to  temporal  princes. 
This  is  at  length  candidly  acknowledged  by  different  writers  of  the  Protes- 
tant communion,  after  the  example  of  Leibnitz  in  several  of  his  works, 
especially  in  his  first  dissertation  De  Actorum  Publicorum  Usu.  Very 
lately,  two  Protestant  German  authors,  Hurter  and  Vpigt,  have  published, 
their  excellent  lives  of  Innocent  111  and  Gregory  VII,  in  which  the  charac- 
ter and  the  conduct  of  these  great  Popes  are  powerfully  vindicated,  and 
held  up  to  the  unqualified  admhation  of  posterity.  Let  us  hope  that  the 
clouds  which  have  so  long  obscured  this  part  of  history,  will  be  entirely 
dispelled  by  impartiality  and  truth ;  and  that  full  justice  will  at  last  be 
rendered  to  the  Roman  P^ntiils,  for  their  noble  eifbrts  to  promote  the 
spiritual  and  temporal  welfare  of  society. 

There  is  another  charge  to  be  examined  with  regard  to  the  Popes  of  the 
middle  ages.  We  allude,  not  to  the  ridiculous  tale  of  the  pretended  Popesi 
Joan,  which  is  now  rejected  by  all  learned  critics,  whether  Catholic  or 
Protestant,  but  to  the  more  serious  charge  of  the  vices  of  some  Roman 
Ponthfs.  It  is  true,  a  few  among  them  gave  great  scandals  to  the  Christian 
world  in  their  private  character  and  conduct;  but  it  ought  to  be  remem- 
bered; at  the  same  time,  that,  through  a  special  protection  of  Divine  Provi- 
dence, the  irregularity  of  their  lives' did  not  interfere  with  their  public  duty 
from  which  they  never  departed.  The  beneficial  influence  of  sacred  juris- 
diction does  not  depend  on  the  private  virtue  of  the  persons  invested  with  it, 
but  ON  their  divine  mission  and  appointment  to  feed  the  Christian  flock. 
Christ  did  not  say  that  there  would  never  be  scandals  nor  abuses,  but  that 
no  power  of  darkness  would  ever  prevail  against  his  Church :  nor  did  ha 
promise  personal  sanctity  to  its  chief  pastors,  but  gave  to  them  authority  to 
teach  and  govern  the  faithful ;  and  to  the  faithful,  a  command  to  follow  their 
injunctions,  without  blindly  imitating  the  bad  example  of  a  small  number 
of  them,  whose  conduct  might  not  be  edifying. 


500  NOTES. 

It  is  moreover  certain  that  the  number  of  bad  Popes  has  been,  by  som« 
writers,  greatly  exaggerated.  There  were  but  few  of  this  character,  and 
those  few  lived,  nearly  all,  in  the  tenth  and  part  of  the  eleventh  century, 
during  which  time  the  prevalence  of  civil  factions  in  Rome  obstructed  the 
freedom  of  canonical  election.  Eren  during  that  period,  there  existed 
many  excellent  Popes;  men  distinguished  by  their  exalted  virtues  and 
intellectual  endowments,  patrons,  in  an  eminent  degree,  of  science,  letters 
and  the  arts.  Roscoe  himself,  though  a  Protestant,  does  not  hesitate  to  say 
in  his  life  of  Leo  the  tenth,  (vol.  i, p.  53),  that  "the  Popes  may  in  general 
be  considered  as  superior  to  the  age  in  which  they  have  lived ;"  and  an 
American  editor  of  statistics  has  lately  confessed  that  "most  of  the  Popes 
were  excellent  men."  These,  however,  are  the  sovereigns,  whom  a  recent 
and  elementary  author  has,  in  his  profound  wisdom,  thought  proper  to 
compare  with  the  Mussulman  caliphs,  namely,  with  men  who  were  either 
the  most  unjust  conquerors,  or  the  most  indolent  and  insignificant  monarchs 
that  the  world  ever  saw;  whereas  the  greatest  enemy  oi  the  See  of  Rome 
might  be  boldly  challenged  to  show  any  where  in  history  a  succession  of 
princes,  who  have  been  half  as  eminent  for  their  virtues  and  piety,  for 
their  talents  and  learning,  and  for  their  benefits  to  the  great  family  of  man- 
kind, as  the  Roman  Pontiffs. 


NOTE  1.  — PAGE  259. 

CONQUEST    OF    IRELAND. 


BEFORE  we  pass  any  judgment  and  censure  upon  past  events,  we  should 
invariably  weigh  with  great  attention  their  causes,  their  nature  and  their 
real  character,  and  also  take  into  serious  consideration,  the  manners,  cus- 
toms and  opinions  of  the  age  in  which  they  happened.  Had  this  equitable 
rule  been  constantly  adhered  to  in  historical  composition,  there  would  have 
been  an  end  to  those  false  assertions  and  unjust  remarks  which  fill  up  the 

_  /•     TT Tr~lA~*      —         ]       — At, ...~ll 1 1J 1       _.        . £_•_!  -A 


upon 

diligent  inquiry,  that  the  conduct  of  Pope  Adrian  IV  in  this  affair  has  been, 
in  latter  times,  neither  duly  appreciated  nor  sufficiently  understood. 

It  was  formerly  a  common  opinion,  that  not  only  Ireland,  but  also  every 
Christian  island,  was  the  property  of  the  Holy  See.  "There  is  no  doubt, 
as  you  yourself  acknowledge,"  wrote  the  Pontiff  to  King  Henry  II,  "  that 
Hibernia  and  all  the  islands  to  which  the  sun  of  justice,  Christ,  has  shone 
forth,  belong  to  St.  Peter  and  to  the  holy  Roman  Church;  (Epist.  i  Jldr. 
papa  iv,  in  collect.  Cone.  vol.  x,  Col.  1143).  This  belief,  as  we  learn  from 
John  of  Salisbury,  who  acted  as  negotiator  between  the  king  and  the  Pope, 
was  founded  on  a  certain  donation  of  Constantino  the  Great,  the  authenti- 
city of  which  was  never  questioned  by  the  critics  of  those  ages :  "  All  islands," 
says  that  author  (Metalog.  iv),  "by  ancient  right  and  from  a  donation  of 
Constantine,  are  said  to  belong  to  the  Roman  Church."  This  having  been 
the  case,  it  is  hard  to  conceive  why  Adrian  IV  should  be  blamed  for  having 
performed  (if  he  did  perform),  aii  act  of  high  temporal  jurisdiction  over 
Ireland;  since  in  doing  so,  he  merely  acted  up  to  the  tenor  of  an  instru- 
ment which  all  believed  to  be  authentic,  and  he  merely  exercised,  over  Chris- 
tian islands,  that  right  of  sovereignty  which  wras  conceded  to  him  by  the 
general  opinion  of  his  age.  To  find  a  real  fault  in  his  conduct,  would  be 


NOTES.  501 

preposterously  to  require  that  the  Popes  of  the  middle  ages  should  have 
divested  themselves  of  the  feelings  common  to  their  contemporaries,  should 
have  rejected  the  opinions  which  were  then  prevalent  about  temporal  sove- 
reignty, and,  through  an  anticipation  ol  several  centuries,  should  have  fol- 
lowed our  own  views  and  modern  political  discoveries  of  which  there  was 
no  idea  in  their  time. 

It  would  be  equally  wrong  to  assert,  that  Adrian  IV  was  led,  in  thia 
transaction,  by  human  considerations,  and  that,  being  an  Englisman  by 
birth,  he  did  not  hesitate  to  sacrifice  the  interests  of  Ireland  to  those  of  his 
own  country.  This  charge,  if  seriously  made,  would  involve  a  complete 
injustice  against  the  well  known  character  and  uncommon  virtue  of  that 
Pope.  For,  how  can  such  base  motives  be  fairly  attributed  to  a  Pontiff 
whose  whole  life  exhibited  a  perfect  model  of  piety,  whom  personal  merit 
alone  raised  from  the  lowest  rank  in  the  world  to  the  highest  dignity  in  the 
Church,  and  who  constantly  distinguished  himself  by  the  nobleness  of  his 
sentiments,  as  historians  unanimously  testify?  So  great  indeed  was  his 
disinterestedness  and  delicacy  of  conscience,  that  he  preferred  to  leave  his 
mother  in  a  state  of  indigence,  rather  than  do  any  thing  for  her  through  pri- 
vate affection ;  and  he  even  contented  himself,  before  dying,  with  recom- 
mending her  to  the  charity  and  alms  of  the  Church  of  Canterbury;  (see 
Fleury,  Hist.  Eccles.,  ad  aim.  1159).  Is  it  credible  then,  is  it  even  possible, 
that  a  Pontiff,  so  remarkable  for  the  sanctity  of  his  life  and  the  purity  of  his 
views,  who  scrupled  to  raise  his  nearest  and  dearest  relatives  ever  so  little 
above  their  distressed  condition,  should  have  betrayed  his  duty  and  con- 
science in  order  to  gratify  the  ambition  of  a  monarch  from  whom  he  had 
received  nothing,  and  had  nothing  to  apprehend? 

Nothing  then  but  pure  and  disinterested  views  guided  Pope  Adrian  IV 
in  his  share  of  the  transaction  which  regarded  Ireland,  even  in  admitting 
the  supposition  which  presents  the  less  favorable  side,  viz :  that  he  made  a 
erant  of  that  country  to  the  British  monarch.  But,  is  it  true  after  all,  at 
feast  is  it  certainly  proved,  that  he  did  so,  and  thus  authorized  the  king  to 
invade  and  conquer  Ireland,  as  we  find  it  almost  every  where  asserted? 
We  rather  think  not,  and  this  is  the  reason  why,  in  relating  the  fact  (p.  259), 
we  made  use  of  expressions  somewhat  different  from  those  in  which  it  is 
mentioned  by  the  generality  of  historians.  It  appears  indeed  certain,  that 
the  intention  of  Henry  was,  from  the  beginning  of  his  reign,  to  add  this 
important  island  to  his  dominions;  and  it  is  probable,  likewise,  that  the 
Pope  suspected  his  real  design.  Yet,  it  is  not  from  half-concealed  views 
or  probable  suspicions,  that  we  should  judge  of  the  nature  of  the  conces- 
sion made  to  Henry ;  but  from  the  manner  in  which  the  whole  affair  was 
conducted,  and  from  the  authentic  words  in  which  both  the  request  of  the 
king  and  the  grant  of  the  Pope  were  expressed. 

Now,  we  do  not  see  that  the  English  monarch  asked  the  Pontiff's  appro- 
bation of  his  design  to  conquer  Ireland  and  to  occupy  it  for  his  own  advan- 
tage; but  he  requested  Adrian  to  consent  that  he  might  enter  that  country 
for  the  purpose  of  subjecting  its  inhabitants  to  the  laws,  and  repressing  vice 
and  disorder,  ad  subdendum  ilium  populum  legibus,  et  vitiorum  plantaria  indd 
exlirpanda.  The  ambassador  whom  he  sent  to  the  Pope,  was  charged  10 
assure  his  Holiness  that  Henry's  principal  object  was  to  provide  instruction 
for  the  Irish  people,  to  extirpate  abuses  from  the  Lord's  vineyard,  etc. 
"but  that,  as  every  Christian  island  was  the  property  of  the  Holy  See,  he 
did  not  presume  to  make  the  attempt  without  the  advice  and  consent  of 
the  successor  of  St.  Peter."  (D.  Lingard,  reign  of  Henry  II). 

On  the  other  hand,  it  is  very  remarkable  that  Adrian,  in  the  instrument 
of  concession  which  he  addressed  in  answer  to  the  king,  does  not  mention 
any  absolute  grant  of  possession  and  sovereignty,  much  less  of  invasion 


502  NOTES. 

and  con  juest ;  he  merely  signifies  his  acquiescence  in  the  king's  project', 
he  is  willing  that  Henry  should  enter  Ireland  for  the  zealous  purpose! 
above  mentioned,  and  that  he  should  be  honorably  received  and  acknow- 
\edged  as  lord  by  the  natives :  "  Graturn  et  acceptum  haberaus  ut . . .  insulam 
iilain  ingrediaris,  et  quod  ad  honorem  Dei  et  salutem  illius  terra  specta- 
verit,  exequaris,  et  illius  terrae  populus  honorific^  te  recipiat,  et  sicut  domi- 
num  veneretur,"  (in  Epist.  citata,  collect,  concil.  vol.  x,  Col.  1143).  Hence, 
in  the  expressions  and  intention  of  the  Pontiff,  the  whole  concession  made  to 
the  king  consisted  in  approving  the  laudable  views  which  that  prince  had 
manifested  through  his  ambassador,  and  his  future  right  of  sovereignty  over 
Ireland  depended  on  the  free  acknowledgement  of  the  natives.  John  of 
Salisbury,  who  negotiated  the  affair  at  the  court  of  Rome,  calls,  it  is  true, 
this  concession  a  grant  of  inheritance,  "dedit  Hiberniam  hsereditario  jure 
possidendam:"  but,  as  the  same  author,  in  proof  of  his  assertion,  refers  to 
the  rescript  of  the  Pope,  by  immediately  adding,  "sicut  litterae  ipsius  tes- 
tantur;"  his  words,  consequently,  must  be  understood,  like  those  of  Adrian, 
to  imply  as  a  previous  condition  of  the  grant,  the  voluntary  agreement  and 
consent  of  the  Irish  people.  At  all  events,  we  should  always  prefer  the 
obvious  meaning  of  the  pontifical  rescript  to  every  other  record  of  the 
transaction ;  for,  if  any  one  understood  well  the  real  intention  of  the  Pope, 
it  must  certainly  have  been  the  Pope  himself. 

The  truth  of  these  observations  is  supported  by  the  conduct  of  the  Eng- 
lish monarch,  both  before  and  after  the  conquest  of  Ireland.  The  answer 
of  Adrian  to  his  request,  had  been  obtained  in  the  year  1156,  and  it  was 
not  till  after  the  lapse  of  almost  twenty  years,  and  when  a  great  part  of 
Ireland  had  already  submitted  to  the  British,  that  Henry  thought  of  pro- 
ducing the  letters  of  the  Pope,  and  presented  them  to  be  read  in  a  synod  of 
Irish  bishops.  Now,  is  it  reasonable  to  suppose  that,  if  these  letters  had 
contained  a  real  and  absolute  grant  of  sovereignty,  he  would  have  kept 
them  in  oblivion  all  that  time,  and  deferred  so  long  to  enforce  their  execu- 
tion? Would  he  not,  at  least,  have  exhibited  them  when  the  first  English 
troops*entered  the  island  (A.  D.  1169),  in  order  to  justify  himself  befor« 
the  natives  and  gain  them  over  to  submission?  Since,  then,  he  did  not  do 
so,  but  postponed  the  exhibition  of  the  important  instrument  till  three  or 
four  years  later,  and  even  then  directed  it  solely  to  an  assembly  of  pre- 
lates ;  are  we  not  entitled  to  conclude  that,  ambitious  and  interested  as  he 
was,  he  saw  little  in  the  concession  of  the  Pope,  of  which  he  might  boast 
as  giving  him  a  claim  to  rule  over  the  Irish,  independently  of  their  own 
consent  ? 

Thus,  the  manner  in  which  the  affair  was  conducted,  the  expressions  of 
the  king  and  of  the  Pontiff,  the  conduct  of  Henry  both  before  and  after  his 
attempt  upon  Ireland ;  every  thing  tends  to  prove  or  to  render  it  at  leas* 
probable,  that  he  received  indeed  an  approbation  of  his  zealous  designs  for 
the  good  of  that  country,  and  a  wish  that  he  might  carry  them  into  effect 
but  no  right  to  force  the  submission  of  the  natives  by  invasion  and  con 
quest. — Let  us  add  to  this,  that  Adrian  very  probably  was  not  ignorant  of 
the  project  which  had  been  already  formed  by  several  of  thie  English 
inonarchs,  viz :  Henry  I  and  William  the  Conqueror,  to  subdue  Ireland. 
lu  this  critical  situation  of  the  Irish,  continually  exposed  to  the  attacks  of 
a  formidable  enemy,  and  divided  among  themselves,  the  best  that  could  be 
done  for  them,  since  Henry  II  seriously  entertained  the  same  project  and 
prepared  to  enter  their  country,  was  to  procure  that  he  should  enter  it  with 
views  the  most  favorable  to  the  religion,  the  liberty  and  the  improvement 
of  the  natives.  This  is  exactly  what  the  pope  did,  by  the  manner  in 
which  his  letters  of  concession,  or  approbation  of  Henry's  design,  were 
written,  discarding  all  notion  of  military  conquest  and  absolute  right  of 


NOTES.  503 

•overeignty,  but  exhorting  the  king  always  to  bear  in  mind  the  laudable 
purposes  and  conditions  which  he  himself  had  proposed.  No  blame, 
therefore,  can  be  attached  to  the  conduct  of  this  virtuous  Pontiff;  nor  was 
it  his  fault,  if  his  excellent  and  sincere  intentions  to  procure  the  greater 
good  of  the  Irish,  were  in  subsequent  ages  so  wofully  frustrated. 


NOTE  J.— PAGE  304 

PROSECUTION  ANL-  ABOLITION   OF   THE   KNIGHTS-TEMPLARS. 


THE  authentic  acts  of  the  whole  trial  of  the  Knights -Templars,  are 
«till  extant  (apud  Natal.  Alexand.  Dissert,  x.  in  Sec.  xiv.  Quast.  n,  Jlrt. 
i;— Brumoy,  Hist,  de  I'Eglise  Gall.,  1.  xxxvi,  ad  a^i.  1307— 1312;— Du- 
puy,— Baluze,  etc).  From  those  documents,  it  is  manifest  that  the  royal 
commissaries,  men  of  exemplary  virtue  and  probity,  examined  a  vast  num- 
ber of  Templars  in  the  different  parts  of  France,  viz :  one  hundred  and  forty 
at  Paris,  one  hundred  and  eleven  at  Troyes,  eleven  at  Caen,  ten  at  Pont-de 
PArehe,  forty-five  at  Beaucaire  and  in  the  neighboring  places ;  and  that  all, 
except  three,  acknowledged  themselves  guilty  of  the  denial  of  Christ,  of 
sacrilege,  and  other  abominable  crimes. 

We  have  moreover  the  acts  of  the  Council  of  Vienne  (Labbe,  Colledio 
Conciliorum,  vol.  xi,  part  n,  Col.  1557 — 1560),  and  the  letters  of  Pope 
Clement  V  (ibid.  Col.  1559  and  1572)  concerning  this  affair.  In  one  of 
these,  addressed  to  all  the  Christian  princes  in  Europe,  the  Pontiff  declares 
that,  when  he  himself  examined  at  Poitiers  seventy-two  Templars  on  the 
charge  of  apostacy,  sacrilege  and  other  crimes,  the}'  expressly,  spontaneously 
and  repeatedly  acknowledged  the  justice  of  the  charges ;  and  that  the  same 
free  and  spontaneous  acknowledgment  was  made,  in  presence  of  his  dele- 
gates, by  the  grand-master  and  other  chief  personages  of  the  Order.  Nor 
was  this  depravity,  although  more  common  among  the  Templars  in  France, 
confined  to  that  country ;  several  others  were  found  guilty  of  the  same 
enormous  crimes  in  Tuscany,  Lombardy,  England,  etc.  (Natalis  Alexander, 
in  Dissertatione  citatd  vol.  vii,  pp.  505  and  512 ; — Hist,  de  I'Egl.  Gall.  vol. 
.xii,  pp,  431  and  433).  The  Pope,  therefore,  with  the  approbation  of  the 
general  council  then  assembled  at  Vienne,  published  his  bull  suppressing 
fne  institute,  on  account  of  the  infamy  of  so  many  among  its  members, 
which  had  made  it  an  object  of  contempt  and  scandal ;  and  decreed  that 
their  property  should  be  given  for  ever  to  the  Knights  Hospitallers  of  St. 
John  of  Jerusalem. 

The  whole  transaction  being  thus  stated  from  original  and  authentic 
sources,  it  is  impossible  for  any  reflecting  mind  to  consider  the  series  and 
duration  of  the  inquiries ;  the  fair  manner  in  which  they  were  conducted; 
the  great  number  of  witnesses  that  were  heard ;  the  perfect  agreement  in 
the  avowals  made  by  the  accused  in  so  many  different  parts  of  Christendom; 
the  high  standing  and  character  of  their  judges,  who  were  the  first  and 
most  commendable  personages  of  Church  and  State ;  in  fine,  the  delibera- 
tions and  unanimous  decision  of  the  Pope  and  of  three  hundred  prelates 
assembled  in  the  council  of  Vienne:  it  is,  I  say,  impossible  to  take  all 
these  circumstances  into  consideration,  without  being  at  once  fully  con- 
vinced that  the  Templars  deserved  to  be  suppressed,  and  that  the  sentence 
pronounced  against  their  Order,  in  the  council  of  Vienne,  was  not  only 
proper  and  just,  but  even,  being  the  only  sure  means  to  remove  a  shameful 
scandal,  ought  to  be  considered  as  a  very  signal  service  rendered  by  Pope 
Clement  V  and  King  Philip,  to  religion  and  society. 


504  NOTES. 

Who  will  not,  after  this,  feel  astounded  and  indignant  at  the  following 
narrative  of  Hume,  when,  having  stated  the  indolence  and  degeneracy  of 
the  Templars,  he  adds,  in  his  usual  positive  manner: 

"  But,  though  these  reasons  had  weakened  the  foundations  of  this  Order, 
once  so  celebrated  and  revered,  the  immediate  cause  of  their  destruction 
proceeded  from  the  cruel  and  vindictive  spirit  of  Philip  the  Fair,  who, 
having  entertained  a  private  disgust  against  some  eminent  Templars, 
determined  to  gratify  at  once  his  avidity  and  revenge,  by  involving  the 
whole  Order  in  an  undistinguished  ruin/  On  no  better  information  than 
that  of  two  Knights,  condemned  by  their  superiors  to  perpetual  imprison- 
ment for  their  vices  and  profligacy,  he  ordered  on  one  day  all  the  Templars 
in  France  to  be  committed  to  prison,  and  imputed  to  them  such  enormous 
and  absurd  crimes,  as  are  sufficient  of  themselves  to  destroy  all  the  credit 
of  the  accusation.  Above  a  hundred  of  these  unhappy  gentlemen  were  put 
to  the  question,  in  order  to  extort  from  them  a  confession  of  their  guilt. 
The  more  obstinate  perished  in  the  hands  of  their  tormentors :  several,  to 
procure  immediate  ease  in  the  violence  of  their  agonies,  acknowledged 
whatever  was  required  of  them  :  forged  confessions  were  imputated  to 
others ;  and  Philip,  as  if  their  guilt  were  now  certain,  proceeded  to  a  con- 
fiscation of  all  their  treasures." 

The  writer  then  proceeds  to  relate,  at  great  length,  the  punishment 
inflicted  on  the  Templars,  which  indeed  he  does  with  aliected  pathos,  but 
not  without  several  inaccuracies;  and  at  last  concludes  thus: 

"  In  all  this  barbarous  injustice,  Clement  V,  who  was  a  creature  of 
Philip,  and  then  resided  in  France,  fully  concurred;  and,  without  exam- 
ining a  witness,  or  making  an  inquiry  into  the  truth  of  facts,  he  summarily, 
by  the  plenitude  of  his  apostolic  power,  abolished  the  whole  Order.  The 
Templars,  all  over  Europe,  were  thrown  into  prison;  their  conduct  under- 
went a  strict  scrutiny;  the  power  of  their  enemies  still  pursued  and  op- 
pressed them ;  but  no  where,  except  in  France,  were  the  smallest  traces  of 
their  pretended  guilt  to  be  found.  England  sent  an  ample  testimony  of 
their  piety  and  morals ;  but,  as  the  Order  was  now  annihilated,  the  Knights 
were  distributed  into  several  convents,  and  their  possessions  were,  by  com- 
mand of  the  Pope,  transferred  to  the  order  of  St.  John."  (History  of  Eng- 
land, reign  of  Edward  II ) . 

Such  is,  concerning  the  affair  of  the  Knights-Templars,  the  narrative  of 
Hume,  which  evinces  indeed  much  of  the  inventive  imagination  of  an 
orator,  but  very  little  of  the  exactness  and  sincerity  of  an  historian.  Here 
we  see  an  almost  uninterrupted  series  of  inaccuracies  and  falsehoods 
blended  with  some  true  statements,  a  violent  spirit  of  rancor  against  one  of 
the  two  interested  parties,  scarcely  concealed  under  the  veil  of  affected 
compassion  for  the  other,  and  an  inveterate  desire  of  finding  fault  with  the 
conduct  of  the  Pontiff  and  the  king.  Throughout  the  whole~of  his  narrative, 
the  author  takes  little  care  to  relate  facts  in  the  order  in  which  they  hap- 
pened, and  does  not  even  know  the  names  of  several  among  the  chief  per- 
sonages of  whom  he  speaks,  calling  the  grand-master  John  instead  of  Jainet 
of  Molay ;  and  the  companion  of  his  punishment,  a  brother  to  the  sovereign 
of  Dauphiny,  instead  of  a  brother  to  the  Dauphin  of  duvergne ;  mistaking 
likewise  the  place  in  which  they  underwent  their  last  trial,  for  that  in 
which  they  suffered  death.  These  blunders,  however,  are  mere  trifles, 
compared  with  the  calumnious  charges  of  precipitancy  and  want  of  inves- 
tigation ;  of  violence  employed  to  extort  a  confession  of  guilt ;  of  avarice 
and  revenge;  of  injustice  and  barbarity ;  which  he  so  readily  lavishes  on 
King  Philip  the  Fair  and  Pope  Clement  V,  and  which  we  will  now  succes- 
sively examine. 

1st.  It  is  wrong  to  state  that  King  Philip  ordered  the  imprisonment  of 


NOTES.  505 

nil  the  Templars  in  France  on  the  mere  deposition  of  two  Knights.  Before 
issuing  this  order,  he  had  instituted  new  inquiries  whk-h  gave  additional 
strength  to  the  former  charges.  Hence  it  is  manifest  that  the  imputation 
of  enormous  crimes  to  the  Order  of  the  Templars  did  not  proceed  from 
that  monarch,  as  Hume  asserts,  but  from  the  very  members  of  the  Order;  it 
being,  moreover,  justified  by  their  proverbially  bad  character,  which  gave 
rise  to  the  expression,  boire  comme  un  Templier. 

2d.  It  is  equally  false  that  the  confessions  of  the  Templars  with  regard  to 
the  crimes  imputed  to  them,  were  forged,  or  wrung  from  them  by  the  vio- 
lence of  torture.  The  one  hundred  and  forty  knights  who  were  tried  b} 
the  royal  commissaries  at  Paris,  and  the  seventy-two  others  whom  the  Pope 
himself  examined  at  Poitiers,  were  not  tortured,  but  voluntarily  and  freely 
confessed  their  guilt  (see  again  Brumoy ; — Natalis  Alexander; — especially 
the  letters  of  Pope  Clement  V,  quoted  above; — also  Bergier,  Diction.  Theo- 
log.  art.  Templiers}.  The  grand-master  and  the  chief  commanders  did  the 
same,  without  any  constraint  whatever :  liberb  ac  spontt,  absque  coactione 
qualibet  et  timore.  Most  of  them  persevered  in  their  avowals ;  and,  if  seve- 
ral afterwards  retracted  what  they  had  said,  this  circumstance  may  prove 
indeed  that  they  could  no  longer  bear  to  see  themselves  the  object  of  public 
scorn,  but  not  that  they  were  sincere  in  their  retraction.  For,  how  many 
culprits  are  there,  who  obstinately  maintain  their  innocence,  notwithstand- 
ing .the  clear  evidence  of  the  crime  laid  to  their  charge;  or,  changing  their 
plan  of  defence,  deny  what  they  had  previously  confessed,  and  vice  versd. 

3d.  Notwithstanding  the  peremptory  assertion  of  Hume,  that  no  where 
but  in  France  were  there  to  be  found  the  smallest  traces  of  what  he  calls 
the  pretended  guilt  of  the  Templars,  the  contrary  is  certain  from  various 
testimonies  concerning  the  Templars  of  Tuscany,  Lombardy,  and  even 
England,  as  Walsingham  relates  (Hist.  Jlngl.  in  vltd  Edward  II),  and  Dr. 
Lingard  acknowledges  with  regard  to  a  few  individuals  (Hist.  ofEngl.  vol. 
in, p.  472).  It  appears,  indeed,  that  in  several  countries,  most  of  the  accused 
were  acquitted  ;  but  this  only  proves  what  we  before  said,  that  the  Order 
was  not  equally  corrupt  every  where,  and  that  the  poison  of  impiety  and 
vice  had  not  infected  the  whole  body  of  the  Knights-Templars,  although  it 
had  tainted  many  of  its  members. — It  was  also  incumbent  on  Mr.  Hume  to 
furnish  some  proofs  of  the  reality  of  that  violent  and  universal  persecution 
which,  he  supposes,  was  carried  on  against  the  Templars,  after  the  sup- 
pression of  their  institute  :  he  probably  thought  it,  as  usual,  an  easier  task 
to  assert  boldly  than  to  prove.  The  truth  is,  there  is  no  trace  of  such  a 
persecution  to  be  found  in  history. 

4th.  Groundless  too  is  the  assertion  made  by  the  same  author,  that  King 
Philip  acted  as  a  vindictive  and  avaricious  tyrant.  That  prince  may  have 
been  eager  and  hasty  in  his  proceedings,  at  least  with  regard  to  the  chief 
personages  of  the  Order ;  still,  it  ought  to  be  observed  that,  in  inflicting  the 
rigorous  punishment  of  death  by  fire,  he  merely  followed  the  jurisprudence 
commonly  adopted  in  those  ages  against  heinous  crimes.  With  regard  to 
the  confiscation  of  the  property  of  the  Templars  in  France,  there  are  unde- 
niable proofs  of  the  disinterestedness  of  Philip  in  this  transaction :  all  that 
he  did,  had  for  its  object  to  preserve  that  property  for  the  public  utility  of 
Christendom,  as  the  Pope  and  the  general  council  should  deem  advisable; 
nor  did  any  portion  of  it  pass  into  his  own  hands,  except  what  was  requi- 
site to  defray  the  expenses  which  he  had  incurred  in  so  long  and  so  compli- 
cated a  suit.  The  immense  possessions  of  the  Templars  (except  those 
situated  in  Spain  and  Portugal),  were,  as  is  well  known,  and  as  Hume 
himself  acknowledges,  transferred  to  the  Order  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem. 

5th.  Still  more  iniquitous  and  atrocious  than  the  preceding,  is  the  charge 
of  violence,  injustice  and  barbarity  directed  against  Pope  Clement ;  who> 
43 


506  NOTES. 

far  from  acting  as  the  unfaithful  historian  assures  us  he  did,  adopted  th« 
diametrically  opposite  course,  as  all  the  monuments  and  ai  thentic  acts  of 
this  important  anair  invariably  testify.  He  continually  endeavored  to  tem- 
per the  zeal  of  Philip;  he  constantly  recommended  equity  and  prudence  to 
the  commissaries  appointed  to  preside  in  this  complicated  trial ;  neither  he 
nor  his  legates  had  any  thing  to  do  with  the  precipitate  condemnation  of 
the  grand-master.  Whilst  the  papal  commissaries  heard  upwards  of  two 
hundred  witnesses  either  ibr  or  against  the  accused  Order,  Clement  himself 
tried  and  examined  seventy -two  knights,  with  equal  impartiality  and  care, 
he  took  all  possible  means  to  know  the  truth,  and  had  recourse  to  all  possi- 
ble sources  of  information ;  in  a  word,  he  continued  the  inquiries  with  in- 
defatigable patience  during  five  years,  before  he  would  come  to  a  decision 
respecting  the  Order,  the  persons,  and  the  property  of  the  Templars,  la 
there,  in  such  conduct,  any  thing  that  savors  in  the  least  of  violence,  in- 
justice and  barbarity  f 

6th.  Moreover,  what  can  be  more  equitable,  prudent  and  wise  than  the 
decision  which  the  Pontiff,  alter  long  deliberation,  and  many  conferences 
with  the  cardinals  and  other  prelates,  published  in  the  second  session  of 
the  council  of  Vienne,  on  the  third  of  April,  1312.  In  that  document,  he 
did  not  pronounce  the  whole  Order  guilty  of  the  horrid  ciimes  which  had 
been  the  object  of  so  many  inquiries;  but,  considering  the  state  of  acknow- 
ledged degeneracy  into  which  it  had  fallen,  the  infamy  with  which  it  was 
loaded  by  the  mere  imputation  of  such  disorders,  and  the  well  ascertained 
guilt  of  many  of  its  members,  he  abolished  it  as  having  become  not  only 
useless,  but  even  an  object  of  scandal  to  all  Christendom. 

Such  was  the  dignified  conduct  which  Hume  has  dared  to  brand  with 
the  appellation  of  barbarous  injustice,  and  which  another  equally  bold  and 
superficial  writer  has  presumed  to  call  an  infamous  proscription.  If  there 
is,  on  this  subject,  any  tiling  calculated  to  provoke  the  feelings  of  a  just 
indignation,  let  the  reader  judge  on  which  side  it  stands:  on  that  of  a  Pon- 
tiff and  a  prince  whose  proceedings,  throughout  the  whole  of  this  grand 
affair,  were  marked  with  so  much  equity  and  disinterestedness ;  or  on  that 
of  two  unfaithful  authors,  who,  careless  about  historical  truth  and  justice, 
have  ventured,  without  proof,  and  against  all  reason,  to  paint  the  important 
transaction  in  such  sombre  colors? 


NOTE  K.— PAGE  347. 

INQUISITION. 


WHAT  has  not  been  said  about,  or  rather  against,  the  Spanish  Inquisi- 
tion? We  everywhere  see  it  depicted  in  the  blackest  colors,  and  repre- 
sented as  the  otfspring  of  papal  ambition  and  ecclesiastical  tyranny;  as  & 
bloody  tribunal,  condemning  innocent  persons  to  death  for  mere  thoughui 
and  opinions;  an  institution,  whose  proceedings  are  the  most  terrific  that 
human  bigotry  and  malice  could  suggest;  etc. 

In  answer  to  these  charges  we  will  remark,  in  the  first  place,  that  the 
Inquisition  forms  no  part  of  the  Catholic  creed  and  of  the  obligatory  disci- 
pline of  the  Church.  We  find,  it  is  true,  that  it  was  established  in  some 
Catholic  states  as  a  political  means  to  maintain  the  unity  of  religion  within 
their  limits,  and  remove  from  them  the  disturbances  occasioned  by  newly 
invented  systems ;  but  this  was  commonly  done,  either  at  the  request,  or 
by  the  authority  of  the  sovereigns  themselves,  e.  g.,  of  King  Ferdinand  in 


NOTES.  507 

Spam  (A.  D.  1480),  of  John  III  in  Portugal  (A.  D.  1557)-  This  Inquisition 
therefore,  besides  being  a  local  and  temporary  institution,  was  rather  civil 
than  ecclesiastical  in  its  origin.  Its  chief  members,  particularly  in  Spain, 
were  indeed  selected  from  the  ecclesiastical  order,  but  they  always  remained 
under  the  authority  of  the  king,  without  whose  previous  consent  their  de- 
crees could  be  neither  executed  nor  even  published. 

In  the  second  place,  the  Inquisition,  far  from  being  as  bloody  and  in- 
exorably severe  as  is  commonly  imagined,  far  from  inflicting  capital  punish- 
ment even  for  mere  thoughts  and  opinions,  on  the  contrary  never  inflicted 
it  even  for  open  and  atrocious  crimes,  the  tribunal  having  never  been  au- 
thorized to  pass  sentence  of  death  or  of  mutilation  upon  any  person ;  this 
power  resided  entirely  and  solely  in  the  civil  authority.  All  that  the  council 
of  the  Inquisition  had  to  do,  was  to  pronounce  the  individual  arraigned  be- 
fore them  guilty,  on  the  clearest  evidence,  of  a  crime  declared  capital  by 
the  law  of  Spain.  There  they  stopped ;  and,  instead  of  prosecuting  to  death, 
they  rather  displayed  a  degree  of  indulgence  and  clemency  seldom  witnessed 
in  any  other  tribunal.  If  the  culprit  manifested  sincere  repentance,  he  was 
immediately  screened  from  capital  punishment,  and  condemned  merely  to 
undergo  temporary  and  trifling  penances.  If,  notwithstanding  the  convinc- 
ing proofs  of  his  guilt,  he  remained  obstinate  and  impenitent,  then,  and  not 
till  then,  was  he  delivered  over  to  the  civil  power  to  be  dealt  with  accord- 
ing to  law;  and,  even  in  this  case,  the  inquisitors  recommended  the  wretched 
individual  to  the  mercy  of  the  secular  judge.*  They  had  nothing  to  do  with 
his  death ;  and,  when,  at  the  moment  of  execution,  the  priest  appeared  by 
the  side  of  the  guilty  man,  it  was  only  to  inspire  him,  if  possible,  with  sen- 
timents of  repentance,  to  soothe  his  agony  by  words  of  consolation,  and  to 
prepare  him  for  eternity. 

Even  admitting  that  some  inquisitors,  from  time  to  time,  acted  with  ex- 
cessive rigor,  which  led  to  certain  abuses  and  unjustifiableconclusions, still 
it  is  true  that  these  proceedings  should  be  charged  only  to  the  individuals 
in  question,  but  not  to  the  tribunal  itself  fairly  considered  in  its  nature,  its 
end  and  its  regulations,  nor  to  the  generality  of  its  members,  whose  prudence, 
justice  and  integrity  have  elicited  the  admiration  of  all  attentive  and  impar- 
tial travellers  (v.  g.,  Abbe"  de  Vayrac,  in  his  Voyage  en  Espagne  et  en  Italic, 
1731;  JBourgoing,  Nouveau  Voyage  en  Espagne;  and  Journal  de  I3 Empire, 
1805).  Again,  these  abuses,  whatever  they  were,  might  be  ascribed  to  the 
civil,  but  not  to  the  ecclesiastical  power,  as  is  well  explained  by  Count  de 
Maistre  in  his  two  first  letters  on  the  Spanish  Inquisition ;  much  less  could 
they  be  imputed  either  to  the  Catholic  church  at  large,  of  which  the  church 
of  Spain  is  but  a  portion,  or  to  the  Roman  See  in  particular,  since  the  In- 
quisition at  Rome  greatly  differed  from  that  of  Spain,  and  always  displayed 
such  moderation,  indulgence  and  meekness,  as  to  astonish  the  French  infi- 
dels themselves  (Encyclop.  art.  Inquisition). 

With  regard  to  the  awful  and  terrible  forms  which  the  Inquisition  is  said 
to  have  adopted,  the  charge  may  be  partly  admitted  without  furnishing  any 
ground  for  invective ;  nor  is  it  at  all  surprising  that  a  tribunal  should  make 
an  exterior  show  of  rigor,  the  better  to  strike  the  minds  of  the  people,  and 
the  more  surely  to  prevent  the  perpetration  of  crime.  It  is,  however,  cer- 

*  The  case  of  the  famous  heresiarch  John  Huss,  in  1415,  was  conducted  in  the  same 
manner.  The  council  of  Constance,  not  having  been  able,  by  remonstrances  and  exhor- 
tations, to  overcome  his  obstinacy  and  bring  him  to  a  retractation  of  his  errors,  handed 
him  over  to  the  civil  power,  without  however  soliciting  his  punishment.  The  secular 
court  was  not  so  indulgent:  the  emperor  Sigismond  thought  it  his  duty  to  punish  the  man 
who,  besides  repeatedly  infringing  the  conditions  of  the  safe-conduct  he  had  received, 
every  where  preached  seditious  doctrines ;  accordingly,  John  Huss  was  placed  under  the 
custody  of  the  magistrate  of  Constance,  who,  foHowing  the  jurisprudence  of  the  age  wilh 
regard  to  such  trespasses,  consigned  him  to  the  flames. 


508  NOTES. 

lain  that,  on  this  point  also,  there  have  been  many  exaggerations  ana 
slanderous  reports.  Thus,  as  Count  de  Maistre  observes  (leit.  n.),  it  is  by 
no  means  true  that  the  most  trifling  charge  was  sufficient  to  cause  a  man 
to  be  arrested ;  that  the  accused  remained  unacquainted  with  the  reasons 
of  his  confinement,  and  was  not  allowed  the  privilege  of  a  lawyer  to  defend 
his  cause.  The  punishment  of  burning,  too,  far  from  being,  as  it  is  com- 
monly supposed,  the  ordinary  one  to  which  the  convicted  persons  were 
condemned,  was,  on  the  contrary,  very  seldom  employed,  and  that  by  the 
civil  power  only,  and  against  such  enormous  crimes,  sacrilege,  apostacy, 
and  the  like,  as  were  not  more  mildly  treated  by  the  other  European 
nations.  Faults  of  a  less  grievous  nature  were  punished  merely  by  exile 
or  imprisonment,  sentence  of  death  being  very  rare,  especially  in  lattei 
times,  when,  as  well  natives  as  foreigners,  who  did  not  attempt  to  disturb 
religious  or  social  order,  could  live  with  as  much  tranquillity  and  security 
in  Spain  as  in  any  other  country. 

When  the  Spaniards  are  reproached  with  the  rigors,  real  or  pretended, 
of  this  famous  tribunal,  their  answer  is,  that,  by  punishing  a  few  obstinate 
individuals,  it  saved  their  monarchy  from  the  awful  disturbances  and  civil 
wars  which  desolated  Switzerland,  Germany,  Holland,  France,  etc.,  in  the 
sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries  ;  and  did  not,  after  aril,  cause  so  much 
blood  to  flow  in  all  their  dominions  together,  as  the  Calvinian  reformation 
did  in  the  single  kingdom  of  France. 


NOTE  L.— PAGE  357. 

BULL  OF  ALEXANDER  VI,  CALLED  THE  BULL  OF  PARTITION. 


"  WRITERS,"  says  Dr.  Lingard,  "  have  not  always  sufficiently  appre- 
ciated the  benefits  which  mankind  derived  from  the  pacific  influence  of 
the  Roman  Pontiffs.  In  an  age  which  valued  no  merit  but  that  of  arms, 
Europe  would  have  been  plunged  in  perpetual  war,  had  not  Pope  after 
Pope  labored  incessantly  for  the  preservation  or  restoration  of  peace.  They 
rebuked  the  passions,  and  checked  the  extravagant  pretensions  of  sove- 
reigns :  their  character,  as  the  common  fathers  of  Christians,  gave  to  their 
representatives  a  weight  which  no  other  mediators  could  claim  :  and  their 
legates  spared  neither  journey  nor  fatigue  to  reconcile  the  jarring  interests 
of  courts,  and  interpose  the  olive  of  peace  between  the  swords  of  contend- 
ing armies,"  (Histor.  of  Engl.  vol.  iv,p.  80). 

These  general  remarks  on  the  happy  influence  exercised  at  different 
times  by  the  Sovereign  Pontiffs,  are  particularly  applicable  to  the  conduct 
of  Pope  Alexander  VI,  with  regard  to  the  Spanish  and  Portuguese  sove- 
reigns. He  had  to  settle  between  them,  by  a  solemn  decision,  the  respec- 
tive boundaries  of  their  foreign  possessions,  ajid,  by  so  doing,  prevent  the 
endless  and  sanguinary  contests  that  might  have  otherwise  Followed;  this 
the  Pontiff  did  by  issuing  the  famous  bull  Inter  ccetera  :  he,  at  the  same  time, 
improved  the  opportunity  of  benefiting  the  natives  of  the  newly  discovered 
countries,  by  requiring  of  their  conquerors  that  they  should  procure  for 
them  religious  and  Christian  instruction.*  Had  he  refused  to  listen  to  the 

•  The  words  of  the  Pontiff  are  these  :  "Insuper  mandamus  vobis  In  virtute  sanctae  obe- 
dicntise  (sicut  pollicemini,  et  non  dubitamus  pro  vestra  maxima  devotione  et  regia  mag- 
Baniinitate  vos  esse  facturos)  ad  terras  firmas  et  insulas  predictas  viros  probos  et  Deum 
timentes,  doctos,  peritos  et  expertos,  ad  instruendum  incolas  et  habitatores  praefatos  in 
ride  Oatholica,  et  bonis  moribus  imbuendum,  destinare  studeatis,  omnem  dobitam  diligen- 
tiuni  in  pnemissis  adhibentes." — Bulla  Inter  C'trtera,  n,  7. 


NOTES.  509 

appeal  of  the  interested  parties,  he  might  indeed  have  removed  the  danger 
of  being  charged  with  entertaining  ambitious  views;  but  would  he  not  have 
incurred  the  guilt  of  unjustifiable  want  of  zeal  and  care,  both  to  prevent 
the  effusion  oi  human  blood,  and  to  promote  the  advantage  of  the  defence- 
less Indians  ?  For,  it  should  ever  be  remembered  that  the  kings  of  Spain 
and  Portugal  would,  in  any  hypothesis,  have  taken  and  kept  possession  of 
the  lands  lately  descried  by  their  navigators,  this  having  been  their  full 
determination  from  the  beginning;  hence,  there  would  have  existed,  on 
one  side,  a  continued  subject  of  quarrels  between  the  two  nations  for  the 
determination  of  their  foreign  limits,  and,  on  the  other,  there  would  have 
been  no  condition  imposed  on  them  to  better  the  fate  of  the  Indians. 
The  decision,  therefore,  of  Alexander  VI,  was  not  only  conducive  to  the 
preservation  of  peace  among  the  conquerors,  but  highly  advantageous  to 
the  vanquished  themselves,  ibr  whom  it  secured  the  blessings  of  civilization 
and  Christianity. 

"  Ferdinand,"  says  the  elegant  historian  of  Columbus,  "  had  despatched 
ambassadors  to  the  Court  of  Home,  announcing  the  new  discovery  as  an 

extraordinary  triumph  of  the  faith At  least  as  politic  as  he  was  pious, 

he  insinuated  a  hint  at  the  same  time,  by  which  the  Pope  might  perceive 
that  he  was  determined,  at  all  events,  to  maintain  his  important  acquisitions. 
His  ambassadors  were  instructed  to  state  that,  in  the  opinion  of  many 
learned  men,  these  newly  discovered  lands,  having  been  taken  possession  of 
by  the  Catholic  Sovereigns,  their  title  to  the  same  did  not  require  the  papal 
sanction ;  still,  as  pious  princes  obedient  to  the  holy  chair,  they  supplicated 
His  Holiness  to  issue  a  bull,  making  a  concession  of  them,  and  of  such 
others  as  might  be  discovered,  to  the  crown  of  Castile,"  (Irving's  Columbus, 
b.  v.  ch.  viu). 

From  this  it  manifestly  appears  that  the  Spanish  Sovereigns  had  not 
waited  for  the  grant  of  the  Pope,  to  take  possession  of  the  West  Indies. 
"The  question,"  says  a  learned  critic,  (Bergier,  art.  Demarcation)  "was 
not  to  decide  whether  their  conquests,  and  those  of  the  king  of  Portugal, 
were  lawful  or  not,  but  to  remove,  by  the  fixation  of  their  limits,  the  evils 
of  war  which  would  have  visited  the  European  discoverers,  without  render- 
ing the  fate  of  the  Indians  better."  Hence,  it  is  useless  to  ask  what  right 
the  Pontiff  had  to  give  lands  and  countries  which  did  not  belong  to  him, 
since  his  solemn  award,  although  it  seemed  to  contain  a  real  grant,  was 
simply  a  measure  tending  to  prevent  bloody  quarrels  between  two  jealous 
and  powerful  monarchs ;  whilst  it  also  provided  for  the  civil  and  moral  im- 
provement of  their  new  subjects.  To  act  the  part  of  an  authoritative  arbi- 
trator, does  not  require  to  have  jurisdiction  over  the  object  of  the  debate, 
but  over  the  contending  parties ;  especially,  if  they  themselves  have  re- 
ferred the  case  to  their  common  acknowledged  superior,  and  have  asked 
his  decision. 

Instead  then  of  inveighing  against  the  bull  of  Alexander  VI,  it  would  be 
better,  as  Feller  and  Count  de  Maistre  observe,  to  regret  that  the  time  has 
passed,  when  a  single  word  from  the  Roman  Pontiff  was  sufficient  to  main- 
tain peace  among  kings  and  nations,  and  when  his  impartial  voice  and 
universally  revered  influence  easily  removed  the  danger  of  obstinate  dis- 
•ensions  and  sanguinary  conflicts. 


43* 


510  NOTES. 


NOTE  M.— PAGE  367. 

INFLUENCE    OF    THE    ROMAN    CHURCH    ON    THE    IMPROVEMENT   OF 
SCIENCE. 

AFFAIR    OF    GALILEO.— THE    CALENDAR. 


THE  Roman  Church,  as  we  have  already  noticed  in  several  parts  of  this 
work,  has  rendered  multiplied  and  signal  services  to  the  arts,  sciences,  and 
uelles  lettres.  Still,  it  is  often  saicl  that  she  has,  within  the  last  ages, 
rather  opposed  their  improvement ;  and  were  we  to  believe  certain  authors 
in  their  poetical,  astronomical,  and  geographical  descriptions,  the  very  land 
and  city  in  which  there  has  always  been  found,  to  the  present  day,  a 
greater  share  of  true  taste  and  solid  learning  than  any  where  else,  should 
be  considered  a  half  barbarous  and  hardly  civilized  region.  The  principal 
fact  adduced  to  support  this  unjust  charge,  is  the  ailair  of  Galileo,  whom  a 
.multitude  of  writers  represent  as  having  been  persecuted  on  account  of  his 
astronomical  discoveries,  and  condemned  by  the  Roman  inquisitors  merely 
for  teaching,  according  to  the  opinion  of  Copernicus,  the  true  system  of 
the  world.  But  it  is  now  well  proved,  from  the  letters  of  Guichardin  and 
of  Marquis  Nicolini,  both  of  them  disciples,  friends  and  protectors  of  Gali- 
leo, from  the  letters  and  writings  of  Galileo  himself,  that,  for  a  long  time, 
the  public  has  been  grossly  imposed  upon  with  respect  to  this  point  oi 
history. 

This  celebrated  man  was  not  arraigned  as  an  astronomer,  but  as  a  barf 
theologian,  and  for  having  pretended  to  impute  to  the  Bible  dogmas  of  his 
own  invention.  His  great  discoveries,  it  is  true,  provoked  envy  against 
him;  but  his  pretension  to  prove  the  Copernican  system  from  the  Bible 
was  the  real  cause  of  his  being  summoned  before  the  inquisitors  at  Rome; 
and  the  restlessness  of  his  mind,  the  only  source  of  the  troubles  which  he 
underwent  on  that  account. 

In  his  first  journeys  to  Rome  (1611,  etc.),  Galileo  found  only  admirers 
among  the  cardinals  and  other  distinguished  personages.  The  Pope  him- 
self granted  him  a  favorable  audience,  and  Cardinal  Bellarmine  merely 
forbade  him,  in  the  name  of  His  Holiness,  to  blend  in  future  the  Bible  with 
his  astronomical  systems.  Other  learned  prelates  equally  pointed  out  to 
him  the  course  of  prudence  to  be  observed  by  him  on  this  point ;  but  his 
obstinacy  and  vanity  did  not  permit  him  to  follow  their  advice. 

Some  years  after,  he  published  his  "Dialogues  and  Memoirs,"  in  which 
he  again  took  upon  himself  to  raise  the  system  of  the  rotation  of  the  earth 
to  the  dignity  of  a  dogmatical  tenet.  Being  summoned  before  the  tribunals 
of  Rome,  the  lodging  assigned  to  him  in  that  city,  was  not  a  gloomy  prison, 
not  a  frightful  dungeon,  but  the  palace  of  Tuscany,  and,  for  eighteen  days, 
the  apartments  of  the  attorney-general,  where  he  had  every  facility  to  take 
exercise  and  cany  on  his  correspondence.  During  the  trial,  the  main 
object  of  his  answers  was  not  the  scientific  view  of  the  question,  since  he 
had  been  allowed  to  defend  his  system  as  an  astronomical  hypothesis,  but 
its  pretended  association  with  the  Bible.  Not  long  after  having  received 
his  sentence  and  made  his  recantation,  Galileo  obtained  leave  to  revisit  his 
native  country,  and,  far  from  being  persecuted,  was  dismissed  with  new 
marks  of  esteem  for  his  talents  and  of  regard  for  his  person. 

For  these  interesting  documents  respecting  the  aifair  of  Galileo,  we  are 
Indebted  to  the  researches  of  an  impartial  Protestant,  Mr.  M  allet — Dupaii 


NOTES. 


511 


of  Geneva,  who  wrote  a  dissertation  on  the  subject,  in  the  Mercure  dt 
France,  17  Juillet  1784,  n.  29 — see  Be'raut-Bercastel,  Histoire  de  rEglise, 
ad  ann.  1634;  and  Bergier,  Diction,  de  theol.,  art.  Monde,  and  Sciences 

The  Roman  Church,  far  from  impeding  the  progress  of  astronomy  or  of 
other  sciences,  on  this  or  any  other  occasion,  has  on  the  contrary  rendered, 
even  in  that  respect,  the  most  undeniable  and  signal*  services.  We  allude 
chiefly  to  the  reformation  of  the  calendar,  an  event  which  took  place  uudei 
Pope  Gregory  XIII,  some  years  before  the  time  of  Galileo,  and  which  is 
well  deserving  of  notice. 

By  Calendar  is  meant  a  certain  distribution  of  time  adapted  to  religious 
and  civil  purposes,  and  pointing  out  the  order  and  succession  of  the  days, 
weeks,  months  and  festivals  of  the  year.  All  civilized  nations  have  ever 
felt  the  necessity  of  having  such  a  regular  distribution  of  time  ;  but  it 
required  a  long  series  of  ages,  a  deep  study  of  astronomy,  and  innumerable 
calculations,  to  contrive  a  good  and  exact  calendar. 

In  former  times,  the  year  was  believed  to  be  eleven  minutes  longer  than 
it  is  in  reality.  This  difference,  though  apparently  trifling,  had  become, 
by  being  repeated  from  year  to  year  during  the  course  of  many  centuries, 
BO  very  sensible  and  material,  that  in  the  year  1582,  the  vernal  equinox  fell 
on  the  eleventh  of  March,  whereas  the  calendar  marked  it  on  the  twenty- 
first  of  the  same  month ;  a  day  which  had  been  assigned  to  it  by  the  astrono- 
mers of  Alexandria,  in  325.  The  consequence  was,  that  festivals  were  no 
longer  celebrated  in  their  proper  time ;  and  Easter,  in  particular,  which  de- 
pends on  the  full  moon  of  March,  would,  in  the  course  of  ages,  have  been 
successively  found  in  Summer,  Autumn  and  Winter. 

To  remedy  this  confusion,  Gregory  XIII  suppressed  at  once  from  the 
year  1582  ten  entire  days  (those  between  the  4th  and  IStlrof  October),  by 
which  the  real  equinox  was  in  advance  of  the  equinox  of  the  calendar;  thus 
making  them  again  coincide,  and  restoring  all  Christian  festivals  to  their 
proper  epoch  throughout  the  year.  Moreover,  measures  and  precautions, 
suggested  by  skilful  mathematicians  and  astronomers,  were  taken  to  prevent 
the  like  confusion  in  future,  and  the  whole  work  being  completed,  received 
the  solemn  sanction  of  the  Pope,  in  his  bull  of  the  same  year,  1582. 

These  corrections  in  the  calendar  were  successively  ado.pted  by  nearly 
all  Christian  nations,  even  those  separated  from  the  See  of  Rome ;  v.  g.,  by 
the  English,  in  1752;  by  the  Swedes,  in  1753;  by  the  German  States,  in 
1776.  The  Russians  are  the  only  civilized  people  in  Europe,  who  have 
hitherto  refused  to  admit  the  important  improvement,  and  still  adhere  to  the 
old  style ;  the  consequence  of  which  is  that  they  are  now,  in  their  computa- 
tion of  the  year,  twelve  days  behind  the  real  time  ;  thus  preferring,  as  a  judi- 
cious author  pointedly  remarks,  rather  to  be  at  variance  with  the  heavens 
and  the  stars,  than  to  agree  with  the  Roman  Pontiff. 


NOTE    N.— PAGE    397. 

MASSACRE    OF     ST.    BARTHOLOMEW'S     DAY. 


NOTHING  perhaps  is  more  common,  and  yet  nothing  can  be  more  unjust, 
than  to  take  advantage  of  the  Massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew's  day,  to  in- 
veigh against  the  Catholic  community  and  the  Catholic  principles,  as  if  the 
awful  deed  had  proceeded  from  their  influence.  If  we  consult  the  authentic 
and  contemporary  documents  collected  and  adduced  by  those  persons  who 
have  made  a  deep  and  impartial  study  of  the  whole  transaction  (v.  g 


512  NOTES. 

Caveirac,  Dissert,  sur la  St.  Barthelemi; — Lingard,  vnr,  Note  T.; — Daniel, 
Hist,  de  France,  ad  ann.  1572),  \ve  shall  find  that  religion  had  nothing  to 
do  with  it,  except  to  check  its  course  as  much  as  possible,  and  to  weep 
over  the  devoted  victims  of  the  Massacre ;  that  the  whole  aiFair  was  merely 
the  effect  of  political  resentment  and  of  a  sudden  ebullition  of  anger;  in  fine, 
that  a  much  smaller  number  of  persons  perished  on  the  occasion  than  is 
commonly  believed.  . 

The  series  and  close  connexion  of  the  events  immediately  preceding  the 
massacre,  are  sufficient  to  show  that  it  originated  in  the  animosity  of  the 
French  court  against  the  Protestant  party,  and  was  dictated  by  a  violent 
desire  of  revenge.  The  mind  of  the  young  king,  Charles  IX,  had  been  fre- 
quently harassed  and  exasperated  by  the  repeated  attacks  of  the  Huguenots 
against  his  authority,  and  by  the  report  of  the  many  cruelties  which  they 
had  committed  throughout  the  kingdom  during  the  last  civil  wars.  Not- 
withstanding these  causes  of  provocation,  he  would  not  have  adopted  the 
dreadful  measure,  had  it  not  been  for  the  positive  assertion  of  his  mother 
and  chief  counsellors,  that  he  could  no  longer  escape  the  plots  of  that  party, 
without  putting  to  death  or  in  confinement  its  chief  leaders,  and  that,  were 
he  to  wait  till  next  morning,  his  most  faithful  officers,  his  family,  perhaps 
himself,  would  be  sacrificed  to  their  vengeance.  The  king  then  gave  his 
consent  to  the  projected  massacre;  the  time  was  appointed,  and  the  execu- 
tion took  place  during  a  considerable  part  of  the  following  day,  the  twenty- 
fourth  of  August,  1572. 

Thus,  the  odious  deed  was  not  the  result  of  a  long  premeditated  and 
general  plot,  but  the  effect  of  a  sudden  fit  of  anger  and  revenge ;  it  was, 
moreover,  projected  against  the  leaders  only  of  the  Huguenot  party,  and 
intended  to  have  taken  place  only  in  Paris.  If  the  example  of  the  capital 
was  followed  in  many  other  cities,  v.  g.,  Lyons,  Rouen,  Toulouse,  Bor- 
deaux, etc.,  this  was  owing  chiefly  to  the  violent  excitement  which  the 
conduct  and  cruelties  of  the  Calvinists,  during  the  preceding  insurrections, 
had  produced  in  the  minds  of  the  Catholics.  Far  from  sending  orders  to 
the  provinces  against  Protestants,  Charles  IX,  on  the  contrary,  both  in  writ- 
ing and  by  word  of  mouth,  frequently  expressed  his  intention  that  the  bloody 
scene  should  not  be  repeated,  nor  extended  beyond  the  limits  of  Paris.  And 
indeed,  the  great  difference  of  the  epochs  at  which  the  massacres  were 
committed  in  the  cities  just  mentioned,  also  shows  that  they  ought  to  be 
attributed  rather  to  sudden  ebullitions  of  popular  vengeance,  than  to  any 
previously  concerted  and  general  plan.  Every  one  may  see  the  detailed 
proofs  of  these  assertions  in  the  two  first  authors  above  mentioned. 

Of  the  number  of  victims  in  all  those  towns,  including  the  capital,  it  is 
impossible  to  speak  with  certainty.  Among  the  Huguenot  writers,  some 
reckon  seventy  thousand ;  others,  thirty  or  twenty  or  fifteen  thousand :  but 
all  these  amount*  seem  to  be  exaggerated.  "  The  reformed  martyrologist 
adopted  a  measure  of  ascertaining  the  real  number,  which  may  enable  us  to 
form  a  probable  conjecture.  He  procured  from  the  ministers  in  the  different 
towns  where  the  massacres  had  taken  place,  lists  of  the  names  of  the  per- 
sons who  had  suffered,  or  were  supposed  to  have  suffered.  He  published 
the  result  in  1582;  and  the  reader  will  be  surprised  to  learn  that  in  all 
France  he  could  discover  the  names  of  no  more  than  seven  hundred  and 
eighty-six  persons.  Perhaps,  if  we  double  that  number,  we  shall  not  be 
far  from  the  real  amount."  (Lingard  in  loco  tit.) 

Above  all,  it  is  certain  that  religion  had  nothing:  to  do  with  the  massacre, 
whether  as  a  motive  or  an  encouragement,  fri  the  contriving  of  the 
wretched  scheme,  the  passions  of  the  French  court,  jealousy,  animosity, 
revenge,  were  the  real  and  only  cause ;  and  the  pretence  was  a  supposed 

conspiracy  of  the  Protestant  leaders  against  the  king,  his  servants  and  his 


NOTES.  513 

family.  No  clergymen  were  consulted  about  tbo  adoption  of  the  awful 
measure;  and,  when  they  heard  of  it  after  its  execution,  far  from  obtaining 
their  approbation,  it  rather  excited  in  their  bosoms  feelings  of  horror  for  the 
deed,  and  of  commiseration  lor  its  victims.  The  only  share  which  bishops, 
priests  and  monks  took  in  it,  was  to  save  as  many  as  they  could  of  the  Pro- 
testants, who,  in  many  towns,  v.  g.,  Lisieux,  Toulouse,  Lyons,  Bordeaux, 
had  taken  refuge  in  their  hospitable  dwellings. 

It  is  objected  that  Pope  Gregory  XIII  publicly  returned  thanks  to  God 
on  that  occasion; — but  what  was  the  real  object  of  this  rejoicing?  Charles 
IX,  in  order  to  palliate  the  shame  of  his  murderous  edict  against  the  Pari- 
sian Huguenots,  wrote  to  every  court  in  Europe,  that,  having  just  detected 
their  horrid  plots  against  his  authority  and  person,  he  had  been  fortunate 
enough  to  escape  from  the  imminent  danger,  by  putting  the  conspirators  to 
death  without  delay.  The  Pope  then,  under  that  impression,  rejoiced,  not 
for  the  death  of  the  supposed  traitors,  whose  rigorous  punishment  he  on  the 
contrary  deplored,  but  for  the  preservation  of  the  French  monarch  and  of 
his  kingdom  from  utter  ruin :  exactly,  as  in  a  case  of  war,  and  of  a  signal 
victory  against  invaders,  public  rejoicings  would  take  place,  and  every 
sensible  person  would  willingly  share  in  them,  not  indeed  at  the  blood  shed 
in  battle,  but  at  the  advantages  gained  over  an  unjust  enemy ;  and  who 
could  dare  to  find  a  fault  in  such  conduct? 


NOTE   O.— PAGE  414. 

REVOCATION   OF   THE   EDICT   OF   NANTES. 


BEFORE  attempting  to  present  a  vindication  of  this  famous  Revocation, 
we  will  quote  the  words  in  which  it  is  recorded  by  Hume,  in  the  eighth 
volume  of  his  History.  "Louis  XIV,"  says  he,  "having  long  harassed  and 
molested  the  Protestants,  at  last  entirely  revoked  the  Edict  of  Nantes,  which 
had  been  enacted  by  Henry  IV  for  securing  them  the  free  exercise  of  their 
religion;  which  had  been  declared  irrevocable;  and  which,  during  the 
experience  of  near  a  century,  had  been  attended  with  no  sensible  inconve- 
nience. All  the  iniquities  inseparable  from  persecutions  were  exercised 
against  those  unhappy  religionists,  who  became  obstinate  in  proportion  to 
the  oppressions  which  they  suffered,  and  either  covered  under  a  feigned 
conversion  a  more  violent  abhorrence  for  the  Catholic  communion,  or 
sought  among  foreign  nations  for  that  liberty  of  which  they  were  bereaved 
in  tneir  native  country.  Above  half  a  million  of  the  most  useful  and  indus- 
trious subjects  deserted  France,  and  exported,  together  with  immense  sums 
of  money,  those  arts  and  manufactures  which  had  chiefly  tended  to  enrich 
that  kingdom.  They  propagated  every  where  the  most  tragical  accounts 
of  the  tyranny  exercised  against  them,  and  revived  among  the  Protestants 
all  that  resentment  against  the  bloody  and  persecuting  spirit  of  popery,  to 
which  so  many  incidents  in  all  ages  had  given  too  much  foundation." 

Such  is,  without  the  change  of  a  single  word,  the  language  of  Hume  con- 
cerning the  Revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes.  That  it  is,  in  most  points, 
and  especially  in  the  conclusion,  the  language  of  virulence,  untruth  and 
calumny,  will  appear  manifest  from  the  bare  recital,  in  this,  and  the  follow- 
ing note,  of  the  facts  connected  with  the  important  subject  now  before  us, 
and  of  such  notorious  facts,  too,  as  the  most  envious  criticism  cannot 
rationally  deny. 

Previously  to  the  reign  of  Louis  XIV,  the  Huguenots,  by  dint  of  threats 


514  NOTES. 

and  violence  had  extorted  from  the  French  kings,  particularly  from  Henry 
IV  in  1598,  innumerable  privileges,  and  a  sort  of  separate  government  in 
the  very  heart  of  the  kingdom.  Their  repeated  insurrections  under  Louis 
XIII  were  checked,  and  their  military  forces  annihilated  by  the  genius  of 
Richelieu ;  still  they  continued,  even  under  this  powerful  minister,  to  pos- 
sess a  legal  existence,  and  to  enjoy  the  free  exercise  of  their  religion. 
Unfortunately,  their  spirit  of  rancor  and  animosity  always  continued  the 
same ;  they  constantly  manifested  the  most  shameful  opposition  to  the 
interests  of  their  own  country,  repeatedly  endeavored  to  overturn  her  con- 
ititution  and  government,  always  favored  her  foreign  foes,  as  was  manifest 
Vom  their  authentic  acts  and  writings,  and  carried  so  far  their  hostile  de- 
>igns,  as  to  open, 'as  far  as  they  were  able,  her  frontiers  to  the  Germans 
tnd  tjie  Dutch,  and  her  maritime  towns,  Le  Havre  and  La  Rochelle,  to  the 
English,  the  greatest  enemies  of  France;  in  a  word,  so  multiplied  were 
Iheir  infractions  of  several  articles  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes,  that  it  required 
no  fewer  than  two  hundred  decrees  of  various  courts  of  justice  to  check 
Ihese  new  encroachments,  as  may  be  seen  in  the  work  of  Abbe"  Caveirac  on 
this  subject,  pp.  195 — 246,  and  LXI — LXIII  of  the  notes. 

Moreover,  the  bloody  civil  wars  formerly  excited  by  the  Huguenots, 
were  not  yet  forgotten,  and  the  fresh  remembrance  of  past  evils  inclined 
the  nation  to  adopt  measures  calculated  to  prevent  their  repetition.  "I 
do  not  speak,"  says  the  illustrious  pupil  of  Fenelon,  the  duke  of  Burgundy, 
in  his  memoirs,  "of  the  calamities  produced  by  the  new  doctrines  in  Ger- 
many, England,  Scotland,  Ireland,  etc.;  I  speak  of  France  only.  Nor  shall 
I  enumerate  one  by  one,  the  evils  of  which  it  was  the  theatre,  and  which 
are  recorded  in  so  many  authentic  documents ;  the  secret  assemblies ;  the 
leagues  formed  with  foreign  enemies ;  the  attempts  against  the  govern- 
ment ;  the  seditious  threats,  open  revolts,  conspiracies,  and  bloody  wars ; 
the  plundering  and  sacking  of  towns;  the  deliberate  massacres,  and  atro- 
cious sacrileges:  suffice  it  to  say,  that,  from  Francis  I  to  Louis  XIV, during 
seven  successive  reigns,  all  these  evils  and  many  others,  with  more  or  less 
violence,  desolated  the  French  monarchy.  This  is  a  point  of  history  which, 
although  it  may  be  variously  related,  can  neither  be  denied  nor  called  in 
question  ;  and  it  is  from  this  capital  point  that  we  should  start  in  the 
political  examination  of  this  grand  affair." 

Under  the  fresh  recollection  of  so  many  trespasses  and  obnoxious  deeds 
of  the  Huguenots,  an  intimate  persuasion,  founded  on  the  natural  rights  of 
nations  and  the  security  of  governments,  had  pervaded  all  classes  of  people^ 
that  the  king  was  justifiable  in  adopting  vigorous  measures  for  the  purpose 
of  checking  this  ill-affected  portion  of  his  subjects.  It  was  the  general 
opinion,  that  the  Edict  of  Nantes,  both  from  its  nature  and  on  account  of 
its  numerous  violations  by  the  very  party  whom  it  favored,  might  be  re- 
voked, since  the  good  and  tranquillity  of  the  state  called  for  its  revocation. 
So  little  doubt  did  there  exist  concerning  this  right  of  repeal,  that  even 
Arnauld,  a  Jansenist,  and  Grotius,  a  Protestant,  openly  acknowledged  it  in 
their  writings;*  nor  indeed  could  it  be  denied  without  unjust  partiality, 
since  there  was  not,  at  this  period,  a  single  Protestant  government  in 
Europe,  which,  notwithstanding  much  more  sacred  ties  or  contracts,  did 
not  act  more  severely  against  their  peaceful  Catholic  subjects,  than  the 
French  court  prepared  to  do  against  the  restless  and  ever  disaffected 
Huguenots. 

Moved  by  these  considerations,  the  ministry  under  Louis  XIV  employed 

*  The  following  are  the  words  of  the  latter :  "  Ndrint  illi,  qui  Reformatorum  sibi  impo- 
nunt  vocabulum,  non  esse  ilia  federa,  sed  regum  edicta,  ob  publicara  facta  utilitatem,  et 
\evocabilia,  si  aiiud  regibus  publica  utilitas  suaserit. — Ricetiani  apologetici  discusrio,  p.  22. 


NOTES.  515 

itself  in  gradually  undermining  their  party,  and  taking  away  from  them 
the  power  and  opportunities  of  exciting  new  disturbances  in  France  ;  still 
nothing  appeared  to  threaten  the  entire  abolition  of  their  privileges,  when, 
alarming  symptoms  of  insurrection  manifested  by  them  throughout  the 
southern  and  western  provinces,  caused  it  to  become  a  matter  of  serious 
debate  in  the  council  of  the  king.  The  proposed  measure  passed  by  the 
unanimous  vote  of  the  counsellors  and  ministers ;  the  Edict  of  Nantes  was 
revoked  •,  and,  as  the  factious  and  hostile  spirit  of  the  Huguenot  ministers 
was  too  well  known  to  be  safely  tolerated,  such  of  their  number  as  refused 
to  abjure  their  tenets  within  the  space  of  two  months,  were  commanded  to 
quit  the  kingdom.  As  to  the  other  Protestants,  they  were  not  only  allowed, 
but  even  encouraged  to  remain  in  France,  where  they  might  freely  carry 
on  their  business  and  commerce  as  before,  and  enjoy  their  property  and 
their  civil  rights  under  the  protection  of  the  law,  "  without  being  troubled 
and  vexed  on  account  of  their  religion."  These  are  the  very  terms  of  the 
repealing  statute. 

It  is,  therefore,  a  gross  inaccuracy  to  assert  or  suppose  that  the  French 
Huguenots  were  promiscuously  condemned  to  banishment,  or  doomed  to 
oppression  and  all  the  iniquities  inseparable  from  persecution  in  their  native 
country.  Many  of  them,  it  is  true,  preferred  to  follow  their  ministers  into 
exile ;  but  this  was  a  mere  effect  of  their  own  choice,  which  the  govern- 
ment never  intended  nor  encouraged.  It  is  true  also  that,  in  several  places, 
acts  of  rigor,  owing  to  unforeseen  incidents,  were  exercised  against  them; 
but  this  happened  only  in  the  places  where  the  religionists,  misunderstand- 
ing the  moderate  views  of  their  sovereign,  provoked  his  justice  by  their 
excesses  and  revolts.  As  to  the  acts  of  violence  which  some  individuals 
occasionally  recommended  or  practised,  they  were  entirely  repugnant  both 
to  the  character  and  intentions  of  the  monarch,  who  bitterly  complained  of 
this  criminal  abuse  of  his  authority. 

He  not  only  published  new  enactments  to  check  these  disorders,  but  also 
endeavored  to  remove  from  the  attendance  of  Protestants  at  religious  in- 
structions even  the  appearance  of  constraint;  following  in  this  the  advice 
of  Bossuet,  Fenelon,  and  other  distinguished  persons  of  the  clergy,  as  Car- 
dinal de  Bausset  relates  in  the  lives  of  these  two  illustrious  bishops.  Even 
before  this,  so  remote  were  the  ideas  of  the  king  from  any  thing  like  perse- 
cution, that,  in  a  letter  to  the  Intendants  of  the  provinces,  he  said  in  express 
terms,  that  he  recommended  to  them  above  all  to  treat  the  Protestants  with 
mildness,  je  vous  recommande  surtout  de  menager  avec  douceur  les  esprits  de 
ceux  de  ladite  religion;  and,  when  information  was  given  him  that  two  of 
these  governors  had  followed  a  different  course,  he  severely  reprimanded 
one,  and  recalled  the  other. 

But  did  not  Louis  XIV  at  least  commit  a  great  political  fault,  or,  as  some 
call  it,  a  suicidal  act  against  France,  by  giving  occasion  to  so  many  indus- 
trious and  useful  subjects  to  leave  the  kingdom  ? — So  indeed  it  seems  to 
several  persons,  but  on  what  grounds  does  not  appear.  Even  supposing 
the  commercial  and  pecuniary  disadvantage  for  some  parts  of  France  to 
have  been  as  great  as  is  commonly  supposed,  Louis  XIV  may  have  justly 
considered  it  a  mere  trifle,  when  weighed  in  the  balance  against  the  secu- 
rity and  tranquillity  of  the  whole  kingdom.  After  all,  there  has  evidently 
been  much  exaggeration  in  estimating  the  loss  which  France  may  have 
suffered  on  that  occasion.  Whatever  were  the  complaints  issued  by  some 
interested  individuals,  time  and  experience  showed  that  arts,  manufactures 
and  trade  had  scarcely  suffered  any  sensible  detriment ;  or  it  was,  at  least, 
quickly  repaired,  since  from  nearly  that  period,  commerce  and  industry 
became  more  and  more  flourishing  in  France,  and  no  later  than  two  years 
after  the  Edict  of  Revocation,  the  revenues  of  the  crown,  without  any 


516  JVOTES. 

narsh  or  oppressive  measure,  were  augmented.  Nor  is  it  at  all  true  that 
the  French  refugees  exported  much  money;  the  richest  among  them  had 
remained  in  France,  and  those  who  freely  chose  to  emigrate  were  mostly 
workmen  and  laborers,  rather  requiring  support  from  the  countries  whick 
veceived  them,  than  capable  of  enriching  their  benefactors,  as  their  own 
historians  confess;  (apud  Caveirac,  pp.  93— 97).  Nor,  in  fine,  did  they 
materially  contribute,  except  perhaps  in  Prussia,  to  the  splendor  of  foreign 
manufactures,  which  were  flourishing  and  prosperous  before  their  arrival. 

As  to  the  number  of  the  emigrants,  it  is  difficult  to  ascertain  it,  though  we 
may  be  assured  that  there  is  another  gross  exaggeration  in  the  amount  of 
above  half  a  million  asserted  by  Hume.  Larrey  and  Benoit,  two  Protestant 
authors,  admit  it  to  have  been  of  about  two  hundred  thousand  persons ;  but 
several  critics  think  that  it  ought  to  be  reduced,  upon  fair  calculation,  to 
one-fourth  or  at  least  one-third  of  that  amount.  Among  others,  the  Duke 
of  Burgundy,  whose  candor  and  sincerity,  as  well  as  means  of  research, 
cannot  be  doubted,  assures  us  that  the  French  refugees  were  not  more  than 
sixty-eight  thousand  in  all;  a  number  less  than  was  carried  oif  by  a  single 
civil  war. 

So  little  injury  was  thought  at  the  time  to  result  to  France  from  the  revoca- 
tion of  the  Edict  of  Nantes,  that  Louis  XIV  received  innumerable  con- 
gratulations on  this  account.  Both  subjects  and  foreigners  appeared  more 
surprised  at  the  rapid  execution  of  the  measure,  than  at  the  measure  itself; 
even  the  famous  Bayle  proved  to  his  fellow  exiles  that  it  was  their  own 
conduct  that  had  forced  the  king  to  revoke  their  privileges,  and  that,  after 
all,  the  laws  enacted  in  most  Protestant  countries  against  Catholics  were 
more  stern  and  rigorous  than  any  published  by  Catholic  princes  against 
Protestants,  (jlvis  aux  Refugtis,  etc).  If  then  the  Huguenots  filled  the 
world  with  their  invectives  against  the  French  government,  no  reasonable 
man  will  refuse  to  ascribe  their  conduct  rather  to  the  dictate  of  passion, 
than  to  their  love  of  truth  and  justice.  For,  who  does  not  know  that  the 
guilty  commonly  complain  of  the  tribunal  by  which  they  were  condemned? 
And  who  will  ever  consider  as  worthy  of  credit  the  historian  who,  lending 
an  attentive  ear  to  these  complaints  and  invectives  of  one  party,  sets  aside 
the  victorious  defence  and, the  unexceptionable  reasons  of  the  other? 


NOTE  P.— PAGE  460. 

ON    RELIGIOUS    PERSECUTION. 


To  all  persons  ever  so  little  acquainted  with  the  history  of  the  last  agea, 
it  must  be  matter  of  the  greatest  surprise  to  see  the  charge  of  bloody  and 
persecuting  spirit  so  incessantly  urged  against  the  Catholic  Church  by  those 
against  whom  it  may  be  so  easily  and  so  victoriously  retorted.  Without 
again  mentioning  the  rigors  exercised  by  the  late  Prussian  government, 
the  oppressive  yoke  laid  over  Catholic  Poland  by  the  present  autocrat  of 
Russia,  and  the  inhumanity  of  the  former  penal  laws  of  England,  etc.,  what 
violence  and  persecution  did  not  the  Catholics  of  the  sixteenth  century 
suffer  in  Denmark,  Sweden  and  Scotland,  although  theirs  was  the  ancient 
and  established  faith,  whilst  the  doctrines  of  their  persecutors  were  novelties 
both  in  Church  and  State !  What  cruelties  were  not  committed  against  them 
in  different  parts  of  Germany,  where  it  may  be  said  that  streams  of,  blood 
marked  the  progress  of  the  reformed  religion ; — in  Holland,  where  the  san- 
guinary Vandermerk  slaughtered  more  unoffending  Catholic  persons  in  the 


NOTES,  517 

year  1572,  than  the  severe  Duke  of  Alva  executed  Protestant  insurgents 
during  his  whole  government ; — in  France,  where  the  fury  of  the  Hugue- 
nots, oesides  many  particular  atrocities,  burnt  nine  hundred  towns  and 
nllages  in  the  province  of  Dauphins'  alone,  and  excited  nine  or  ten  civil 
wars,  which  cost  the  lives  of  more  than  two  millions  of  men ;  and  that,  too, 
upon  avowed  principle,  and  according  to  the  maxims  laid  down  by  the  very 
authors  of  the  reformation,  Luther,  Calvin,  Beza,  etc. 

On  the  contrary,  we  have  proved,  in  different  Notes,  that  neither  the  pas- 
tors, nor  the  tenets  and  principles  of  the  Catholic  Church,  had  any  share  in 
the  Massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew's  Day,  in  the  Gun-powder  Plot,  in  the 
abuses  which  may  have  accidentally  taken  place  in  the  Spanish  Inquisition, 
or  in  the  Revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes.  Sometimes,  indeed,  when 
there  have  existed  sectarians,  like  the  Albigenses,  implacable  disturbers  of 
the  public  peace,  and  enemies  of  all  social  and  religious  order,  the  Church 
exhorted  and  requested  the  civil  power  to  repress  their  excesses :  but  this 
surely  cannot,  without  a  manifest  abuse  of  language,  be  termed  pertecution; 
otherwise  we  ought  to  call  by  the  same  name  all  civil  laws  enacted  against 
robbers  and  murderers.  As  to  the  acts  of  real  persecution,  cruelty  and 
violence  of  which  some  Catholics  may  have  occasionally  been  guilty,  they 
not  only  never  met  with  any  kind  of  encouragement  or  approbation  from 
her;  but  she  rather  endeavored,  as  much  as  lay  in  her  power,  to  prevent  or 
check  those  ebullitions  of  individual  and  popular  fury ;  and,  however  zealous 
to  propagate  the  Christian  faith,  she  always  inculcated  that  principle,  which 
has  even  become  a  part  of  the  Canon  Law,  that  no  one  should  embrace  it 
by  force.  That  this  has  been  constantly,  from  the  primitive  ages  down  to 
the  present  time,  her  true  spirit  and  the  rule  of  her  conduct,  may  be  easily 
shown  from  a  great  variety  of  facts  and  testimonies,  even  confining  ourselves 
to  such  as  are  connected  with  the  events  and  personages  mentioned  in  the 
course  of  this  history. 

The  first  Christian  emperor,  Constantine  the  Great,  was  far  from  retaliating 
upon  the  heathens  the  rigor  which  his  predecessors  had  exercised  against 
the  Christians.  However  great  was  his  zeal  for  the  diffusion  of  the  true 
religion,  in  which  he  had  been  instructed  by  Catholic  bishops,  he  did  not 
so  much  as  attempt  to  compel,  but  contented  himself  with  mildly  exhorting 
his  subjects  to  embrace  it,  and  even  gave  orders  that  no  one  should  be  in 
the  least  annoyed  on  account  of  his  religion.  See  his  life  by  Eusebius,  b.  n. 
ch.  47,  48,  etc. 

Another  Christian  emperor,  Honorius,  having  in  410  passed  very  severe 
edicts  to  repress  the  horrid  excesses  and  cruelties  of  the  Donatists  in  Africa, 
St.  Augustine  and  other  orthodox  prelates  exerted  all  their  influence  to 
mitigate  in  favor  of  these  wretched  people  the  severity  of  the  law,  and  to 
procure  their  conversion  by  instructions  and  conferences,  rather  than  let 
their  bodies  perish  by  capital  punishment.  We  learn  from  Possidius,  the 
disciple  and  friend  of  St.  Augustine,  in  the  life  of  this  holy  doctor,  (n.  14), 
that  they  had  the  satisfaction  to  succeed  in  their  charitable  undertaking. 

Pope  St.  Leo  the  Great,  who  lived  at  a  time  when  the  Church  was  at- 
tacked by  very  dangerous  heretics,  speaking  of  the  Manicheans,  the  worst 
of  all,  says  that  "  the  ecclesiastical  lenity  was  content,  even  in  this  case, 
with  the  sacerdotal  judgment,  and  avoided  all  sanguinary  punishments." 
A  remarkable  fact  had  recently  proved  the  truth  of  his  assertion.  It  was 
against  a  branch  of  these  sectarians,  the  Priscillians,  that  the  secular  arm 
first  exerted  its  severity,  at  Triers  under  the  emperor  Maximus,  about  the 
year  385.  This  event  served  to  show  how  adverse  the  Catholic  Church  is 
to  the  bloody  spirit  of  persecution :  Pope  St.  Siricius,  and  the  most  holy 
prelates  of  the  West,  blamed  the  rigor  that  has  been  exercised  against  the 
PrUcilliaus,  and  the  two  bishops  Ithacius  and  Idacius,  who  had  obtained 
44 


518  NOTES. 


condemnation  in  a  civil  court,  were  themselves  condemned  for  that 
very  reason  in  the  councils  of  Milan  (A.  D.  390)  and  of  Turin  (401). 

When  Ethelbert,  King  of  Kent,  was  converted  to  the  true  religion  by  the 
apostle  of  England,  St.  Austin,  he  had  a  great  desire  that  all  his  subjects 
should  like  him  embrace  Christianity  ;  but,  as  venerable  Bede  relates,  he 
did  not  compel  any  one  to  do  so,  because  he  had  learned  from  the  Roman 
missionaries  that  the  service  of  Christ  ought  to  be  voluntary.  —  Pope  St. 
Gregory  the  Great,  by  whom  these  holy  missionaries  were  sent  to  England, 
evinced  on  many  other  occasions  his  firm  adherence  to  this  mild  spirit  of 
Christianity.  Writing  to  the  bishop  of  Terracina,  who  had  used  some 
violence  against  the  Jews,  he  said:  "It  is  by  mildness  and  exhortations, 
not  by  threats  and  terror,  that  the  infidels  must  be  induced  to  become 
Christians;"  and  again,  to  a  patriarch  of  Constantinople:  "This  is  indeed 
a  very  strange  way  of  preaching,  which  enibrces  the  true  faith  by  ill-treat- 
ment*!" Such  were  the  principles  and  the  constant  doctrine  of  that  holy 
pontiff. 

St.  Bernard,  abbot  of  Clairvaux  and  the  brightest  ornament  of  his  age, 
having  learned  that  a  fanatical  preacher  exhorted  the  people  to  murder  the 
Jews  as  enemies  of  Christianity,  rose  against  him  with  all  the  force  of  his 
eloquence,  and  rescued  these  devoted  victims  from  the  danger  which  threa- 
tened them.  Pope  Clement  VI,  in  a  similar  ebullition  of  popular  fury, 
hastened  to  forbid,  even  under  penalty  of  excommunication,  any  violence 
to  be  offered  to  them  either  in  their  persons  or  in  their  property;  and  it  is 
well  known  in  general  that  the  Jews  never  enjoyed  greater  protection  than 
under  the  Roman  Pontiffs  ;  so  much  so,  that  the  city  of  Rome,  where  they 
occupy  a  separate  quarter,  with  mere  precautions  of  police,  has  been 
proverbially  called  the  Paradise  of  the  Jews. 

Robertson,  in  his  History  of  America,  renders  full  justice  to  the  zeal  and 
charity  of  the  Spanish  ecclesiastics  in  favor  of  the  Indians  of  San  Domingo, 
at  the  time  when  these  unhappy  people  were  harshly  treated  by  their  con- 
querors. "The  missionaries,"  says  he,  "  in  conformity  to  the  mild  spirit 
of  that  religion  which  they  were  employed  to  publish,  early  remonstrated 
against  this  conduct."  Besides  the  Dominican  fathers,  and  the  zealous  Bar- 
tholomew Las  Casas  whose  exertions  in  that  noble  cause  are  so  justly 
renowned,  the  monks  of  St.  Jerome  also  "  neglected  no  circumstance  that 
tended  to  mitigate  the  rigor  of  the  yoke  ;  and  by  their  authority,  their  ex- 
ample and  their  exhortations,  they  labored  to  inspire  their  countrymen  with 
sentiments  of  equity  and  gentleness  towards  the  Indians."  (b.  in,  ad  ann. 
1517). 

In  the  fifth  book  of  his  work,  the  same  historian  relates  that  Cortez  having 
resolved,  in  his  march  towards  Mexico,  to  destroy  by  open  force  the  altars 
and  the  idols  of  the  Tlascalans,  was  checked  in  his  inconsiderate  design  by 
Father  Olmedo,  a  chaplain  to  the  expedition.  This  venerable  man  "  repre- 
sented that  religion  was  not  to  be  propagated  by  the  sword,  or  infidels  to 
be  converted  by  violence  ;  that  other  weapons  were  to  be  employed  in  this 
ministry,  namely,  patient  instruction  and  pious  example  .....  The  remon- 
strances of  an  ecclesiastic  no  less  respectable  for  wisdom  than  virtue,  had 
their  proper  weight  with  Cortez  :  he  left  the  Tlascalans  in  the  undisturbed 
exercise  of  their  own  rites,  requiring  only  that  they  should  desist  from  their 
horrid  practice  of  offering  human  victims  in  sacrifice." 

We  have  already  noticed  the  charity  and  mildness  displayed  by  the  French 
clergy  in  favor  of  Protestants,  at  the  time  of  the  Massacre  ot  St.  Bartho- 
lomew's day  and  the  Revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes.  We  may  now 
make  a  similar  remark  concerning  the  penal  statute  passed,  under  the  reign 
of  Queen  Mary,  against  her  Protestant  subjects,  in  consequence  of  tn« 
provocations  which  she  had  often  experienced  from  their  inordinate  zeal 


NOTES.  510 

Motives  of  state  policy  actuated,  indeed,  the  abettors  of  that  rigorous  mea- 
sure ;  but,  far  from  being  supported  by  any  argument  from  ecclesiastical 
authority,  it  was  on  the  contrary  powerfully  opposed  by  Cardinal  Pole  in 
the  cabinet  council,  and  even  by  King  Philip's  chaplain  from  the  pulpit. 
When  likewise,  Emmanuel,  king  of  Portugal,  ordered  some  violent  mea- 
sures to  be  resorted  to,  apparently  for  the  good  of  religion,  the  celebrated 
Jesuit  and  historian  Mariana  observed,  that  the  edict  was  most  repugnant 
to  the  laws  and  statutes  of  the  Christian  Church,  decretum  a  legibuset  insti~ 
tutis  Christianis  abhnrrens  maxime. 

It  was  from  these  sacred  statutes  and  laws,  still  more  than  from  his  own 
benevolent  heart,  that  Fenelon  drew  the  following  beautiful  maxims  and 
counsels  which  he  addressed  to  the  son  of  King  James  TI,  called  the  Pre- 
tender: "Above  all,  never  force  your  subjects  to  change  their  religion.  No 
human  power  can  reach  the  impenetrable  recess  of  the  free  will  of  the 
heart.  Violence  can  never  persuade  men ;  it  serves  only  to  make  hypo- 
crites  Grant  civil  liberty  to  all,  not  in  approving  every  thing 

as  good,  nor  regarding  every  thing  as  indifferent,  but  in  tolerating  with 
patience  whatever  Almighty  God  tolerates,  and  endeavoring  to  convert 
men  by  mild  persuasion."  "  Sur  toutes  choses,  ne  forcez  jamais  vos  sujets 
a  changer  de  religion.  Nulle  puissance  humaine  ne  peut  forcer  le  retranche 
ment  impenetrable  de  la  liberte*  du  cffiur.  La  force  ne  peut  jamais  persua- 
der les  hommes ;  elle  ne  fait  que  des  hypocrites Accordez  a  tous  la 

tolerance  civile,  non  en  approuvant  tout  comme  indifferent,  mais  en  souf 
frant  avec  patience  tout  ce  que  Dieu  soulfre,  et  en  tachant  de  ramener  les 
hommes  par  une  douce  persuasion."  (  Vie  de  Fenelon,  par  Ramsay, p.  176 ; 
or  by  Cardinal  Bausset,  vol.  in.  p.  208). 

The  same  benevolent  and  mild  spirit  of  Catholicity  has  been  also 
strikingly  displayed  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic.  To  prove  this,  we  need 
merely  refer  to  the  history  of  the  settlers  of  Maryland,  the  only  one  of  the 
early  British  colonies  that  was  founded  by  a  body  of  Catholics.  "  Its  his- 
tory," says  Bancroft  (vol.  i,  p.  268),  "is  the  history  of  benevolence,  grati- 
tude and  toleration The  Roman  Catholics,  who  were  oppressed  by 

the  laws  of  England,  were  sure  to  find  a  peaceful  asylum  in  the  quiet  har- 
bors of  the  Chesapeake ;  and  there,  too,  Protestants  were  sheltered  against 
Protestant  intolerance."  (See  also  Wilson,  Jlmer.  Revol.  ch.  n,  p.  21). 
Whilst  the  Episcopalians  of  Virginia  would  suffer  no  other  form  of  worship 
than  their  own  ;  whilst  the  Puritans  of  New  England  punished  with  exile, 
fines,  or  tortures,  the  dissenters  from  their  creed,  the  Catholics  of  Maryland 
alone,  instead  of  imitating  the  example,  invited  the  sufferers  to  come 
among  them,  and  kindly  received  into  their  hospitable  colony  the  victims 
of  intolerance  from  the  other  settlements. 

Nor  has  the  American  Catholic  of  the  present  Jay  degenerated  from  the 
maxims  of  his  ancestors.  However  ready  to  defend  his  just  rights  against 
all  illegal  attacks  and  actual  violence,  he  is  equally  disposed  never  to 
attempt  the  least  unjust  aggression  against  persons  of  a  different  creed. 
How  strongly  soever  attached  to  his  faith,  it  is  only  by  a  fair  and  mild  ex- 
position of  his  doctrines  that  he  seeks  to  vindicate  them;  being  satisfied 
that  the  true  religion  neither  needs  nor  requires  to  be  defended  or  promoted 
by  plots  and  associations,  riots  and  conflagrations,  misrepresentations  and 
calumny ;  he  would  be  ashamed  to  use,  and  he  is,  above  all,  careful  not  to 
employ  such  unworthy  weapons  for  the  support  of  so  sacred  a  cause. 

How  falsely,  then,  do  the  enemies  of  the  Catholic  Church  ascribe  to  her 
a  bloody  and  persecuting  spirit,  than  which  nothing  is  more  contrary  to  her 
constant  maxims  and  conduct!  Is  it  not  rather  evident  that  the  same 
society  to  which  we  are  indebted  for  the  preservation  of  religion,  civiliza- 
tion, literature  and  learning;  for  the  complete  revival  of  sciences  and 


520  NOTES. 

belles-lettres  in  the  age  of  Leo  X,  and  their  greatest  splendor  in  the  age  of 
Louis  XIV;  for  the  most  successful  exertions  in  repelling  the  invasion  of 
barbarians  and  saving  the  liberty  of  our  European  ancestors ;  for  the  mosi 
useful  institutions ;  for  the  most  important  discoveries ;  etc.,  enjoys  also  the 
honor  of  having  always  maintained  the  true  spirit  of  Christianity  upon 
earth,  and  ever  practised,  together  with  unshaken  adherence  to  the  deposit 
of  faith,  that  effectual  benevolence  and  genuine  charity  which  is  so  much 
recommended  in  the  Gospel?  Wonderful  Providence  of  God  towards  man- 
kind in  the  institution  of  his  Church,  that,  whilst  she  seems  to  have  been 
established  only  to  promote  our  spiritual  and  eternal  welfare,  she  has, 
moreover,  been  rendered  so  zealously  active  and  so  vitally  instrumental  in 
procuring  even  our  temporal  happiness ! 


• 
TABLES 


OF 


CONTEMPORARY  SOVEREIGNS. 


" 

N.   8.   THE  DATES  MARK  THE  BEGINNING  OF  EACH  REIGN. 


44* 


522 


CONTEMPORARY    SOVEREIGNS. 


B.  C. 

TABLE  I. 

TABLE  II. 

ROMAN    EMPE- 
RORS. 

PARTHIAN  KINGS: 
ARSACIDI:S. 

A.  D. 

ROMAN   EMPE- 
RORS. 

PERSIAN  KINGS: 
SASSANIDES. 

31 

A.  D. 
14 
18 

37 
41 
50 
54 
68 
69 
69 
69 
79 
81 
90 
96 
9« 
107 

117 
133 

138 
161 

180 
189 

Caesar     Augus- 
tus. 

Tiberius. 

Phraates. 
Artabanus. 

235 

238 
244 

249 
251 
253 
253 
260 
268 
269 
270 
273 

Maximin  

in   226  Artax- 
erxes  I. 
Sapor  I. 

Horiaisdas  I. 
Varanes  I. 
Varanes  II. 

Narses. 

Gordian 

Philip. 
Decius. 
Gallus. 
^Emilian. 
Valerian. 
Gallienus. 
Claudius  II. 

Caligula. 
Claudius. 

Vologeses  I. 

Pacorus. 
Chosroes. 

Vologeses  II. 
Vologeses  III. 

Artabanus. 

Empire  of  the 
Parthians  de- 
stroyed in  226. 

Nero. 
Galba. 
Otho. 
Vitellius. 
Vespasian. 
Titus. 
Domitian. 

Aurelian. 

275 
276 

282 
284 

284 

.294 
305 

306 

310 
337 

361 
363 
364 

379 

395 
424 

455 
475 

Tacitus. 

Cams. 
CarinusandNu- 
merian. 
Diocletian    and 
JMaximian. 

Nerva. 
Trajan.    ' 

Adrian. 

Constantius 
Chlorus  and 
Galerius. 
Constantino  the 
Great. 

Uorinisdas  11. 
Sapor  II. 

Artaxerxes  II. 
Sapor  III. 
Varanes  III. 

For  the  contin- 
uation, see  table 
III. 

Antoninus  Pius. 

Marcus  Aureli- 
Oi 

Commodus. 

Constantine   II, 
Constans    and 
Constantius. 
Julian. 
Jovian. 
Valentinian  and 
Valens. 
Gratian,  Valen- 
tinian  II,  and 
Theodosius  the 
Great.  The  em- 
pire is  divided. 

In  the  West. 
Honorius. 
Valentinian  III. 

Eight  short 
reigns  (see  p. 
133). 
Romulus  Au- 
gustulus. 
Fall  of  the  Wes- 
tern empire  in 
476. 

193 
193 

193 

211 
214 
217 

218 
222 

Pertinax. 
Didius  Julianus. 

Septimius  Seve- 
rus. 

^ 
Caracalla. 

Macrinus. 
Heliogabalus. 

Alexander  Se- 
verus. 

CONTEMPORARY    SOVEREIGNS. 


523 


TABLE  III. 

TABLE  IV. 

A.  D 

EASTERN   OR 
GREEK 
EMPERORS. 

PERSIAN  KINGS: 
SASSANIDES. 

A.D 

EASTERN   OR 
GREEK 
EMPERORS. 

ARABIAN    CA- 
LIPHS :   ABAS- 
SIDES. 

39 
39 
40 
42 
44 
45 
45 

474 

488 
49 
518 
527 
531 
565 
578 
579 
582 
590 
602 
610 
628 
632 

632 
634 
641 

644 
856 

661 

668 

685 
711 
713 
716 
717 

741 

744 

I 

Arcadius  , 

Isdegerdes  I. 

Varanes  IV. 
Isdegerdes  II 

Peroses. 

Balasces. 
Cabades. 

Chosroes  I. 

Hormisdas  III. 
Chosroes  II. 

Siroes. 
sdegerdes  III, 
the  last  of  the 

Sassanidcs. 

Mahomet,  the 
false  prophet. 
Arabian   Ca- 
liphs. 
Abu-Beker. 
Omar. 

Othman. 
Ali. 
Ommiades. 
VIoavias. 

After  his  death, 
there    was    a 
rapid  succes- 
sion of  twelve 
caliphs  du- 
ring the  space 
of    sixty-four 
years,    termi- 
nating in 

Mervan,  the 
last  of  the 
Jmmiades.       ' 

75 
75 

77 

78 

78 
78 
80 
80 
81 
813 

820 

829 
833 

842 

Abul-Abbas. 
Abu-Giafar 
Alinanzor. 
Mohammed  — 
Mahadi. 

Hadi. 
Aaron-al-Ras- 
chid. 
Amin. 

Al-Mamon. 

Mutasem. 

'he    succeed- 
ing    caliphs, 
devoid  of  per- 
sonal    merit, 
lost    an    im- 
mense portion 
of  their  pow- 
er, and  retain- 
ed little  more 
than  a  certain 
preeminence 

Theodosius  II. 

Leo  Chazarus. 

Constantine  V 
and  Irene. 

Marcian. 
Leo   the  Thra 
cian. 
Zeno. 

Nicephorus. 

Anastasius  I. 
Justin  I. 
Justinian  I. 

Michael  I. 
Leo  the  Anne 
nian. 
Michael  II,  the 
Stammerer. 
Theophilus. 

Justin  II. 
Tiberius  II. 

Mauritius. 

Michael  III. 
Basil  the  Mace- 
donian, 
^eo  the  Philoso- 
pher. 
Alexander. 
Constantine  VI] 
or  Porphyroge- 
netes. 
lomanus  I,  Le- 
capenes;  and 
Constant.  VII 
continued, 
lomanus  II. 
Vicephorus 
Phocas. 
ohn  Zimisces. 
Basil  II    till 

5hocas. 
ieraclius. 

867 
886 

911 
912 

919 

959 
963 

969 
976 
025 

081 

Constantino  III. 
Constans  11. 

of  honor. 

"hen,  after  a  se- 
ries of  fifteen 
emperors,  who 
just    appeared 
and  disappear- 
ed, came 
Alexius  Com- 
nenus,  whose 
long  reign  be 
ongs  also  to 
:o  the  epoch  of 
:he  crusades. 

Constantine  IV, 
or  Pogonatus. 

ustinian  II. 
3hilippicus. 
Anastasius  II. 
rheodosius  III. 
..eo    the    Isau- 
rian. 
Constantine  V, 
or  Coprony- 
mus. 

524 


CONTEMPORARY    SOVEREIGNS. 


TABLE  V. 

A.D. 

EMPERORS    OF    GERMANY    FROM 
THE    REVIVAL    OF    THE    WES- 
TERN EMPIRE. 

KINGS     OF     ENGLAND 
THE     END    OF    THE 
TARCHY. 

FROM 
HEP- 

800 
814 
827 
836 
840 
855 
857 
860 
866 
871 
875 

880 
887 
889 
894 
900 

912 

919 
924 
936 
940 
946 
955 
959 
973 
975 
978 
983 

House  of  France. 

Charlemagne. 
Louis  I,  the  De"bonnaire. 

•Anglo*  Saxon  Kings. 

Egbert. 
Ethelwolf. 

Ethelbald. 
Ethelbert. 
Ethelred  I. 
Alfred  the  Great 

Edward  the  Elder. 

Athelstan. 

Edmund. 
Edred. 
Edwy. 
Edgar. 

Edward  the  Martyr. 
Ethelred  II. 

Lothaire  I. 
Louis  II. 

Charles  the  Bald. 
Interregnum  of  three  years. 

Charles,  the  Big. 
C  Arnold. 
•JGuy. 
/  Lambert. 
Louis  III  

House  of  Franconia. 
Conrad  I. 
House  of  Saxony. 
Henry  I,  the  Fowler. 

Otho  I,  the  Gieat. 

Otho  II. 

Otho  III. 

CONTEMPORARY    SOVEREIGNS. 


525 


TABLE  VI. 

A.D. 

EMPERORS    OF 
GERMANY. 

KINGS    OF   ENG- 
LAND. 

KINGS  OF  FRANCE 

from  the  beginning 
of  the   Capetian 
dynasty. 

KINGS  OF  SPAIN, 

from  the  time 
when      Castile 
was  erected  in- 
to a  kingdom. 

987 
996 
1002 

1016 

1017 

1024 
1031 
1035 
1039 

1042 

1056 
1060 
1065 
1066 

1066 

1072 
1087 

House  of  Bava- 
ria. 

jQnglo-  Saxons, 
continued. 

Hugh  Capet. 
Robert. 

i 
Henry  I. 

Ferdinand  I. 

Sanchez. 

Alfonso    I,   in 
Castile,  and  VI, 
as  king  of  Leon. 

Henry  II,  the 
Saint. 

Edmund  Iron- 
side. 

Danish  Kings. 

Canute  the 
Great. 

House  ofFran- 
conia. 

Conrad  II. 

Harold  I  

Henry  III. 

Hardicanute. 

Saxon  line  re- 
stored. 

Edward  the 
Confessor. 

Philip  I. 

Henry  IV. 

Harold  II. 

Norman  dynasty. 

William  I,  the 
Conqueror. 

William  II,  the 
Red. 

526 


CONTEMPORARY    SOVEREIGNS. 


TABLE 

VII. 

P.  A 

EMPERORS   OF   CONSTANTINOPLE 

KINGS  OF  JERUSALEM. 

1099 

Alexius  Comnenus. 

Godfrey  of  Bouillon. 

1110 

Baldwin  I. 

1118 
1131 

John  Comnenus. 

Baldwin  II. 
Foulques  of  Anjou. 

1142 

Baldwin  III. 

1143 
1152 

Manuel  Comnenus. 

Almeric  or  Arnaury 

1173 

Baldwin  IV. 

1180 
1183 
1185 

Alexius  II. 
Andronic  I. 

Baldwin  V. 

1186 

Guy  of  Lusignan. 

1195 
1203 
1204 

1204 

Alexius  III. 
Isaac  and  Alexius  IV  1'Ange. 
Alexius  V  Ducas,  or  Murzu- 
phlis. 

Constantinople  taken  by  the  Latins. 
Baldwin  I  

Fall  of  the  kingdom  of  Jerusalem. 

Greek  Emperors  at  Nice. 
Theodorus  Lascaris  I. 

1206 
1206 
1219 
1222 

Henry. 
Peter  de  Courtenay. 
Robert  de  Courtenay. 

John  Ducas  Vatace. 

1228 
1255 

C  John  of  Brienne. 
[  Baldwin  II. 

Theodorus  Lascaris  II 

C  John  Lascaris. 

1259 

1261 
1282 

Constantinople  recovered  by  the 
Greeks. 

Michael  Paleologus. 
Andronic  II. 

\  Michael  Paleologus. 

CONTEMPORARY    SOVEREIGNS. 


527 


TABLE   VIII. 

*.    D. 

1100 
1106 
1108 

1109 
1125 

1126 
1135 

EMPERORS    OF 
GERMANY. 

KINGS    OF   ENG- 
LAND. 

KINGS    OF 
FRANCE. 

KINGS  OF  SPAIN. 

House  of  Franco- 
nia. 

Norman  dynasty. 
Henry  I. 

Capelian  dynasty. 

jouis    VI,    the 
Big. 

House  of  Bigorre. 
Alfonso  VII. 

Henry  V. 

Lothaire   II,  the 
Saxon. 

House  of  Slots. 

House  of  Burgun- 
dy. 
Alfonso  VIII. 

Stephen. 

Louis    VII,    the 
Younger. 

Sanchez  III  and 
Ferdinand  II. 
Alfonso  IX. 

Henry  I. 

Ferdinand  III, 
(St.) 

Alfonso  X,  the 
Wise. 

Sanchez  IV 
Ferdinand  IV. 

1137 
1138 

1152 
1154 

Conrad  III. 
House  of  Suabia. 
Frederic  I,  Bar- 
barossa. 

Plantagenets 
undivided. 

lenry  II. 

1158 
1180 
1189 

Philip  II,  Augus- 
tus. 

Richard  I,  Cceur 
de  Lion. 

John,  Lackland. 

1190 
1198 

1199 
r?14 

Henry  VI. 
C  Philip. 
I  Otho  IV. 

1216 
1217 
1218 
1223 

1226 
1250 

1252 
1256 

1270 
1272 
1273 

1284 
TW 

Henry  III. 

Frederic  II. 

Louis  VIII,  Li- 
on-hearted. 
Louis  IX,  or  St. 
Louis. 

C  Conrad  IV. 
<  William  of 
{     Holland. 

Interregnum. 
Anarchy. 

Philip  III,  the 
Bold. 

Edward  I. 

Rodolph  I  of 
Hapsburg. 

Philip  IV,  the 
Fair. 

1292 
1295 

Adolph  of  Nas- 
sau. 

528 


CONTEMPORARY    SOVEREIGNS. 


1  TABLE 

IX. 

A.D. 

EMPERORS  OF    CONSTANTINOPLE. 

OTTOMAN  SULTANS. 

1300 

Othman. 

1326 

Orcan. 

1323 
1341 
1360 

Andronic  III. 
C  John  Cantacuzene  and 
(  John  Paleologus  I. 

Amurat  I. 

1389 

Bajazet  I,  Ilderiin. 

1391 
1402 

Manuel  Paleologus. 

Soliman  I. 

1406 

Musa. 

1413 

Mahomet  I. 

1421 

Amurat  II. 

1425 
1448 

1451 

John  Paleologus  II. 
Constantino  Paleologus,  or  Dra- 
gazes. 

Mahomet  11. 

1481 

Fall  of  the  Greek  Empire. 

Bajazet  II. 

1512 

Selim  I. 

1520 

Soliman  II,  the  Magnificent. 

1566 

Selim  II. 

1574 

Amurat  III. 

1595 

Mahomet  III. 

1603 

Achmet  I. 

1617 

Mustapha  I. 

1618 

Osman  I. 

1623 

Amurat  IV. 

1640 

Ibrahim. 

1648 

Mahomet  IV. 

1687 

Soliman  III. 

CONTEMPORARY  SOVEREIGNS. 


529 


TABLE  X. 

A.D. 

EMPERORS   OF 
GERMANY. 

KINGS    OF    ENG- 
LAND. 

KINGS    OF 
FRANCE. 

KINGS  OF 
SPAIN. 

1298 

Albert  I  of  Aus- 
tria. 

Plantagenets. 
Edward  II. 

Capetians. 

House'  of  Bur- 
gundy. 

Alfonso  XI. 

Pedro  the  Cruel. 

Henry  II,  Tran- 
stamare 

Juan  I. 
Henry  III. 

Juan  II. 
Henry  IV 

1308 
1312 

1314 

1316 
1322 
1327 
1328 

1347 
1350 
1364 

1368 
1377 
1378 

1379 
1380 
1390 
1399 
1400 

1406 
1410 
1413 

Henry    VII    of 
Luxemburg. 

f  Frederic    of 
I      Austria, 
j  Louis  of  Ba- 
^     varia. 

Louis  X. 

John  I.  Philip  V. 
Charles  IV. 
House  of  Valois. 
Philip  VI. 

John  II  

Edward  III. 

House    of  Lux- 
emburg. 
Charles  IV. 

Charles    V,    the 
Wise. 

Richard  II. 
House  of  Lan- 
caster. 

Wenceslaus. 

Charles  VI. 

Henry  IV. 

Robert,    Count 
Palatine. 

Sigismond. 

Henry  V. 
Henry  VI. 

House  of  York. 

Charles  VII. 

1422 

1438 
1440 
1454 
1461 
1474 

1483 

1485 
1493 

1498 
1504 
1509 

House  of  Austria. 
Albert  II. 
Frederic  III. 

Edward  IV.... 

Louis  XI. 

Isabella  and 

(Edward   V... 
^Richard  III. 
House  of  Tudor. 
Henry  VII. 

Charies  VIII. 
Valois-  Orleans. 

Louis  XII. 

Ferdinand  V. 
Castile  and  jlr- 
ragon  united. 

f  Philip    1    of 
J    Austria,   and 
|    Ferdinand  V 
^   of  Arragon. 

Maximilian  I. 

Henry  VIII. 

1 

45 


530 


CONTEMPORARY  SOVEREIGNS. 


TABLE  XI. 

A.D. 

OTTOMAN     SUL- 
TANS. 

EMPERORS     AND 
EMPRESSES  Or 
RUSSIA. 

KINGS  OF 
PRUSSIA. 

PRESIDENTS    OF 
THE   UNITED 
STATES. 

1689 
1691 
1695 
1701 
1702 
1713 
1725 
1727 
1730 

1740 
1741 
1754 
1757 
1762 
1774 
1786 

1789 
1796 
1797 

1801 
1807 
1808 
1809 
1817 
1825 

1829 
1837 
1839 
1S40 

1841 

1845 
1849 
1853 

Peter    I,    the 
Great. 

Frederic  I. 

Frederic  Wil- 
liam I. 

Frederic  II,  the 
Great. 

Frederic  Wil- 
liam II. 

WASHINGTON, 
first  president. 
John  Adams. 

Jefferson. 

Madison. 
Monroe. 
John  Quincy 
Adams. 
Jackson. 
Van-Buren. 

Harrison,  Tyler. 

Polk. 
Taylor,  Fillmore, 
Pierce. 

Achmet  II. 
Mustapha  II. 

Achmet  III. 

Catherine  I. 
Peter  II. 
Anne 

Iwan  
Elizabeth. 

Peter  II-Cathe- 
rine  II,  the  Great 

Mahomet  V,  or 
Mahinoud  I. 

Osman  II. 
Mustapha  III. 

Abdul-Hamid. 

Selim  III. 

Paul. 

Frederic  Wil- 
liam III. 

Alexander. 

Mustapha  IV. 
Mahmoud  II. 

Nicholas. 

Abdul  Medjid. 

Frederic  Wil- 
liam IV. 

CONTEMPORARY    SOVEREIGNS, 


531 


1— 

TABLE   XII. 

A.  D. 

EMPERORS   OF   GER- 
MANY. 

KINGS    AND    QUEENS 
OF    ENGLAND. 

KINGS    OF    FRANCE. 

KINGS   OF   SPAIN. 

J515 
1516 
1519 
1547 
1553 
1556 
1558 
1559 
1560 
1564 
1574 

1576 
1589 

1598 
1603 
1610 
1612 
1619 
1621 
1625 
1637 
1643 

1649 
1658 
1660 

1665 
1685 

1689 

1700 
1702 

1705 
1711 
1714 
1715 
1727 
1740 

House  of  Austria 
continued. 

House  of  Tudor, 
continued. 

Valois  —  JLngou- 
leme. 
Francis  I. 

House  of  Austria. 

Charles  I;  same 
as  Charles  V  in 
Germany. 

Philip  II. 

Philip  III. 
Philip  IV. 

Charles  II. 

House  of  Bourbon 
Philip  V. 

Charles  V. 

Edward  VI  
Mary. 

Henry  II. 

Ferdinand  I. 

Elizabeth. 

Francis  II. 
Charles  IX. 

Henry  III. 

House  of  Bourbon 
Henry*  IV,   the 
Great. 

Maximilian  II. 

Rodolph  II. 

House  of  Stuart. 

James  I. 

Louis  XIII. 

Matthias. 
Ferdinand  II. 

Charles  I. 

Louis  XIV,   the 
Great. 

Ferdinand  III. 

Commonwealth. 
Cromwell,  pro- 
tector. 

Restoration. 
Charles  II. 

Leopold  I. 

James  II.  —  Revo- 
lution. 
C  Mary  and 
£  William  III. 

Anne. 

House  of  Hanover 
or  Brunswick. 
George  I. 

Louis  XV. 

Joseph  I. 
Charles  VI. 

George  II. 

Charles   VII,  of 
Bavaria. 

532 


CONTEMPORARY    SOVEREIGNS. 


TABLE    XII.—  CONTINUED. 

A.  D. 

EMPERORS   OP   GER- 
MANY. 

KINGS   AND   QUEENS 
OF   ENGLAND. 

KINGS   OF   FRANCE. 

KINGS    AND    QHEENB 
OF   SPAIN. 

1745 
1746 
1759 
1760 
1765 
1774 
1788 
1790 
1792 
1793 
1799 

1S04 

1806 
1808 

1814 
1820 
1824 

1830 
1833 
1835 
1837 

1848 

1848 

1852 

House  of  Lor- 
raine. 
Francis  I. 

House  of  Hanover 
or  Brunswick. 

House  of  Bourbon 

House  of  Bourbon 

Ferdinand  VI. 
Charles  ill. 

Charles  IV. 

Forced  abdication 
Spain  invaded. 
Ferdinand  VIL 

Civil  war  and  Re- 
volutions. 
Regency  of  Queen. 
Christina  — 
Then,  of  Espar- 
tero. 
Isabella. 

George  III. 

Louis  XVI. 

Joseph  II. 

Leopold  II. 
Francis  II. 

Revolution. 
Republic. 
Louis  XVII. 
Napoleon,  First 
Consul. 
Napoleon,  Empe- 
ror. 

Empire  oj   Aus- 
tria. 
Francis. 

Restoration. 
Louis  XVIII. 

Charles  X. 
Branch  of   Or- 
leans. 
Louis  Philip. 

George  IV. 

William  IV  

Ferdinand. 

Victoria    

Francis  Joseph. 

New  Revolution 
and  Republic. 
Louis  Napoleon, 
President. 

Louis  Xapoleon, 
nr  Napoleon  III. 
Emperor. 

1 

CHRONOLOGICAL   TABLE 

OF 

MEMORABLE    EVENTS 

AND 

REMARKABLE     PERSONAGES. 


N.  B.  The  dates  in  the  first  column,  denote  the  years  in  which  the 
events  happened ; — those  placed  in  the  second  column,  mark  the  years  in 
which  the  persons  mentioned  there,  died. 


B.  C. 

81 

29 


20 


43 

60 
64 

80 
79 


PART    I. 


MEMORABLE    EVENTS. 

Battle  of  Actium. 

Change  of  the  Roman  Repub- 

lic into  an  Empire. 
Roman  Ensigns  recovered  from 

the  Parthians. 
Temple  of  Janus  shut. 
BIRTH  OF   CHRIST,  i 


A.  D. 

4    Conspiracy  of  Cinna. 
9    Defeat  of  Varus  in  Germany. 
15    German  War.i 
31     Conspiracy  of  Sejanus. 
33    Passion  of  our  Saviour  —  De-< 
scent  of  the   Hofy  Ghost  — 
Foundation  of  the  Church. 
Invasion  of  Great  Britain. 
Conquest  of  Armenia. 
First    persecution  againstv  the 

Church. 
Siege  and  destruction  of  Jeru- 

salem. 

Eruption  of  Mount  Vesuvius. 
Second  persecution. 
^  Third  persecution. 
136    Final  overthrow  of  the  Jews.  y 
162    Fourth  persecution.      n 
45*  ^ 


B.  C.     REMARKABLE    PERSONAGES. 

Cicero —  Sallust — Varro- — Cornelius 
Nepos,  died  about  this  time,  or  a 
little  before. 

Young  Marcellus  died,  B.  c.  23— 
Virgil,  poet,  19— Agrippa,  general, 
12 — Drusus,  general,  9 — Horace, 
poet,  8 — Maecenas,  statesman,  8. 

A.  D. 

Livy,  historian,  died  A.  D.  17— Ovid, 
poet,  17 — Arminius,  general, — Ger- 
manicus,  19— Strabo,  geographer, 
25— Livia,  empress,  29 — Velleius- 
Paterculus,  historian,  3 1— Phaedrus, 
fabulist, 

. . . . — Quintus  Curtius,   historian, 
. . . . — Philo,  Jewish  doctor. . . . 

Persius,  poet,  62 — Lucan,  poet,  65 — 
Seneca,  philosopher,  65 — Corbulo, 
general,  66 — Suetonius-Paulinus 

—St.    Peter    and    St.   Paul, 

Apostles,  67. 

Pliny,  the  Elder,  naturalist,  79- 
Agricola,  general,  93— Josephus, 
historian, — Quintilian,  rheto- 
rician' •  •  • — St.  John,  the  Evange- 
list, 101— St.  Ignatius,  bishop  and 


534 


CHRONOLOGICAL   TABLE. 


A.  D. 

174 

193 
197 

202 
226 

235 

249 
257 
260 
262 

273 
275 

286 


MEMORABLE    EVENTS. 

Miracle  of  the  Thundering  Le- 
gion. 

The  empire  put  up  at  auction. 

Battle  of  Lyons  between  Seve- 
rus  and  Albinus. 

Fifth  persecution. 

Fall  of  the  Parthian  empire — 
New  kingdom  of  Persia. 

Sixth  persecution. 

Seventh  persecution. 

Eigth  persecution. 

Captivity  of  Valerian. 

Universal  and  dreadful  pesti- 
lence. 

Destruction  of  Palmyra.v 

Ninth  persecution. 

Martyrdom  of  the  Theban  Lev- 
gion. 

Tenth  and  last  general  perse- 
cution, the  most  bloody  of 
all. 


REMARKABLE   PERSONAGES. 

martyr,  107 — Tacitus,  historian, 
. . .  .—Pliny  the  Younger  .  .—Ju- 
venal, poet,  128 — Plutarch,  histo- 
rian, 140 — Justin,  historian. . . . 

St.  Polycarp,  bishop  of  Smyrna  and 
martyr,  166 — St.  Justir,  martyr, 
167. 

Between  140  and  180,  died  Ptolemy, 
the  astronomer — Arrian,  the  histo- 
rian, and  Lucian,  the  satirist. 

Galenus,  physician,  about  200. 

St.  Irenaeus,  bishop  of  Lyons,  202 — 
Clement  of  Alexandria,  doctor,  216 
— Tertullian,  about  220. 

Dio-Cassius,  historian,  about  230. 

St.  Cornelius,  pope  and  martyr,  252 
— Origen,  253 — St.  Cyprian,  arch- 
bishop of  Carthage,  258 — St.  Law- 
rence, martyr,  258. 

Plotinus,  philosopher,  270 — Longi- 

nus,  rhetorician,  273 Zenobia, 

queen. 


PART   II. 


v 

312  Victory  of  Constantine  over 

Maxentius Triumph  of 

Christianity.  ^ 

323  Licinius  repeatedly  defeated 
and  finally  overthrown  by 
Constantine. 

325    First  General  Council,  at  Nice. 

330    Foundation  of  Constantinople. 

351     Battle  of  Mursa. 

863  The  attempt  of  Julian  to  re- 
build the  temple  of  Jerusa- 
lem, defeated  by  a  splendid 
prodigy — His  campaign  and 
death  in  Persia. 

378     Battle  of  Adrianople. 

381  Second  General  Council  at 
Constantinople. 

388  Defeat  and  death  of  the  usur- 
per Maximus. 

390  Fault  and  repentance  of  Theo- 
dosius. 

394  Miraculous  victory  of  Theodo- 

sius  over  Eugenius  and  Ar- 
bogastes. 

395  Final  division  of  the  empire.  \ 
402-5    Defeat  of  the  Goths  in  Italy. 


Arnobius,    rhetorician    and    doctor, 

about  320. 
Lactantius,    historian    and    doctor, 

about  328. 

Eusebius,  historian  and  controvertisl, 
338  or  339. 

St.  Hilary,  bishop  of  Poitiers,  368— 
St.  Athanasius,  Patriarch  of  Alex- 
andria, 373 — St.  Basil,  archbishop 
of  Caesarea,  379. 

Between  364  and  394,  died  the  his- 
torians Eutropius,  Ammianus  Mar 
cellinus  and  Aurelius  Victor. 

St.  Cyril,  archbishop  of  Jerusalem, 
386 — St.  Gregory  Nazianzen,  arch- 
bishop of  Constantinople,  389— 
St.  Gregory,  bishop  of  Nyssa,  396. 

Rufinus,  statesman,  395 — St.  Am- 
brose, archbishop  of  Milan,  397 — 
St.  Epiphanius,  archbishop  ot 
Salamis,  403— St.  John  Chrysos 
torn,  archbishop  of  Constantinople-, 


CHRONOLOGICAL    TABLEV 


535 


A.  D.          MEMORABLE   EVENTS. 

406-9    Gaul  and  Spain  invaded  by 
the  Vandals  and  other  bar- 
barians. 
410    Rome  taken  and  plundered  by 

the  Goths. 

418  They  settle  in  the  Southern 
provinces  of  Gaul. 

420  Beginning  of  the  French  mo- 

narchy. 

421  Roman    troops   entirely  with- 

drawn from  Great  Britain — 
Inroads  of  the  Picts  and 
Scots. 

430  Africa  subdued  by  the  Vandals. 

431  Third  General  Council,  at  Ephe- 

sus. 
438    Publication  of  the  Theodosian 

code. 
451    Ravages  of  the  Huns— Battle 

of  the  Catalaunian  plains. 

451  Fourth    General    Council,    at 

Chalcedon. 

452  Pope  St.  Leo  before  Attila— 

Foundation  of  Venice. 

455  Rome  plundered  by  the  Van- 
dals. 

455  First  establishment  of  the  An- 
glo-Saxons in  Great  Britain. 

472-3  Spain  conquered  by  the  Visi- 
goths. 

476    Fall  of  the  Western  empire. 


REMARKABLE   PERSONAGES. 

407— Stilico,  general  and  states- 
man, 408. 

Alaric,  king  of  the  Goths,  410— Ru- 
finus  of  Aquileia,  historian,  410 — 
Prudentius,  poet,  410 — Claudian, 
poet;  and  Macrobius,  historian, 
about  415. 

Sulpitius-Severus,  historian,  420. 

St.  Jerom,  doctor  of  the  Church,  420 
— Constantius,  general  and  states- 
man, 421— St.  Augustine,  bishop 
of  Hippo,  430. 

Count  Boniface,  general,  432. 

Socrates,  historian,  about  440 — St 
•  Cyril,  patriarch  of  Alexandria,  444 
—  St.  Peter  Chrysologus,  arch- 
bishop of  Ravenna,  450 — Sozomen, 
historian,  about  450. 

St.  Pulcheria,  empress,  453 — Attila, 
king  of  the  Huns,  453  ^Etius, 
general,  454. 

St.  Patrick,  apostle  of  Ireland,  about 
460. 


Theodoret,  bishop  of  Gyre,  458 — St. 

Leo  the  Great,  pope,  461. 
Ricimer,  general  and  statesman,  472 

Genseric,  king  of  the  Vandals,  477. 


PART  III 


/  -  486-96    Conquests  of  the  Franks  in 
Gaul — Their    conversion 
to  Christianity. 
489-93     Ostrogoths  in  Italy. 

526    Tremendous    earthquakes 

Overthrow  and  rebuilding  of 
Antioch. 

529    Justinian  code. 
532    First  use  of  the  Christian  era  in 

Italy. 

534    Kingdom  of  the   Vandals  de- 
stroyed. 
551     Silk  manufacture  brought  from 

India  to  Europe. 

553     Fifth  General  Council  at  Con- 
stantinople. 

658-4  Kingdom  of  the  Ostrogoths 
destroyed— Battle  of  Casi- 
lino 


St.  Sidonius  Apollinaris,  bishop  of 
Clermont,  482— Evaric,  king  of 
the  Visigoths,  484 — Odoacer,king 
of  Italy,  493. 

Clovis,  king  of  the  Franks,  511 — 
Boetius,  philosopher  and  states- 
man, 524 — Theodoric,  king  of 
the  Ostrogoths,  526 — Amalasontes, 
queen,  535. 

St.  Fulgentius,  bishop  of  Rusp,  533. 

Dionysius  Exiguus,  the  monk,  540 — 
St.  Benedict,  founder  of  the  Bene- 
dictine order,  543. 

Totila  and  Teias,  kings  of  the  Ostro- 
goths, 553-54. 


536 


CHRONOLOGICAL    TABLE. 


A.  D.          MJEMORABLE    EVENTS. 

668  The  Lombards  in  Italy— Exar- 
chate of  Ravenna  remains  to 
the  Greeks. 

676  Battle  of  Melitine — Signal  de- 
feat of  the  Persians. 

584  Extraordinary  inundations  in 
Italy. 

587  Conversion  of  the  Visigoths  to 
the  true  faith. 

592    Bloody  revolutions  in  Persia. 

697  Anglo-Saxons  begin  to  embrace 
Christianity. 

602  Tragical  end  of  the  emperor 
Mauritius  and  his  family. 

614-15  Ravages  of  the  Persians  in 
Syria  and  Palestine. 

622,  etseq.  Exploits  of  Heraclius 
£,  against  the  Persians. 

622     Rise  of  Mahometanism. 

634     Saracens  invade  Syria. 

636     Persia. 

637     Palestine, 

639     Mesopotamia. 


640 
641 


Burning  of  the  Alexandrian 
library- 

651  Extinction  of  the  second  Per- 
sian monarchy. 

673  Invention  of  the  Grecian  fire — 
Siege  of  Constantinople  du- 

Oring  seven  years. 
680     Sixth  General  Council,  at  Con- 
stantinople. 

697    Northern  Africa,  subjugated  by 
the  Saracens — Destruction  of 
^ -Carthage. 

711  Invasion  of  Spain — Battle  of 
Xeres,  which  put  an  end  to 
the  kingdom  of  the  Visigoths. 

718  Saracens  defeated  by  land  and 
sea,  near  Constantinople. 

732  Battle  of  Tours— New  defeat 
of  the  Saracens — Germany 
receives  the  light  of  the  Gos 
pel. 

752  Merovingian  family  succeeded 
on  the  throne  of  France  by 
the  Dynasty  of  Carlovingian 
kings— Exarchate  of  Ravenna 
conquered  by  the  Lombards 

755  Temporal    dominion    of     th< 

Popes. 

756  Foundation  of  the  kingdom  of 

Cordova  in  Spain. 
763    Excessive  cold  and  heat. 


REMARKABLE    PERSONAGES. 

assiodorus,  statesman  and  doctor, 
662 — Procopius,   Historian^  Beli 
sarius,   general,  565 — Narses,  ge- 
neral, 568. 
Alboin,  king  of  the  Lombards,  574. 


Svagrius,  historian — St.  Gregory  ol 
Tours,  historian,  595 — St.  Gregory 
the  Great,  pope,  604 — St.  Augus- 
tine, first  archbishop  of  Canter- 
bury, 607. 

Fortunatus,  poet,  609. 

St.  Isidore,  archbishop  of  Seville,  636 
— St.  Sophronius,  patriarch  of  Je- 
rusalem, 638. 

About  the  middle  of  the  7th  century, 
four  celebrated  Mussulmen  gene- 
rals, Abu-Obeyda,  Kaled,  Amrou, 
Saad. 

Shortly  after,  four  others,  Moavia*, 
Oucba,  Zuheir,  Assan. 


Callinicus,  chemist,  about  675. 


Pepin  Heristel,  statesman  and  gene- 
ral, 714. 


Venerable  Bede,  doctor  and  histo- 
rian, 735 — Charles- Mattel,  duke  of 
France,  741— Luitprand,  king  of 
the  Lombards,  743 — St.  Zachary, 
pope,  752. 


St.  Boniface,  apostle  of  Germany,  7M. 


Pepin,  king  of  France.  768. 


CHRONOLOGICAL    TABLE. 


537 


A.  D. 

774 

787 
796 

"V 
800 

MEMORABLE   EVENTS. 

Extinction  of  the  kingdom  of 
the  Lombards. 
Seventh  General    Council,  at 
Nice. 
The  Saxons  subdued,  and  the 
Avari  prostrated  by  the  arms 
^of  Charlemagne. 
Charlemagne  crowned  emperor 
of  the  West. 

REMARKABLE    PERSONAGES. 


St.  John  Damascene,  doctor  of  the 

Church,  780. 
Adrian  I,  pope,  795 

Witikind,  Saxon  general,  about  800 


PART    IV. 


811  The  emperor  Nicephorus  de- 
feated and  slain  by  the  Bui 
garians. 

827    End  of  the  English  Heptarchy 

841     Battle  of  Fontenay. 

857  Commencement  of  the  Greek 
schism. 

869  Eighth  General  Council,  at  Con 
stantinople. 

878    King  Alfred  compelled  to  take 
refuge  in  a  small  island  ;  then 
defeats  the  Danes,  and  re- 
%       covers  his  kingdom. 

912  Imperial  crown  transferred  from 
the  French  to  the  German 
princes — Normans  take  pos- 
session of  Neustria. 

921  Battle  of  Jonquera — Christians 
of  Spain  defeated  by  the 
Moors. 

939  Battle  of  Simancas — Moors  de- 
feated by  the  Christians. 

955  Battle  of  Mersburg;  Hunga- 
rians completely  defeated  bv 
Othol. 

971  Tremendous    battle   of  Drista 

between  the  Greeks  and  the 
Russians. 

972  Fatimites  in  Egypt. 

987  Capetian  kings  in  France. — 
Invention  of  clocks  with  ba- 
lance.— Gothic  Cathedrals. 

1018  Normans  in  Italy. 

1022  Invention  of  the  Gamut,  or 
scale  of  musical  notes, 

1030  First  conquests  of  the  Selju- 
kian  Turks. 

1035  The  kingdoms  of  Castile  and 
Arragon  begin. 

1053  Renewal  of  the  Greek  schism 
by  Michael  Caerularius 


Paul  of  Aquileia,  historian,  801. 
Alcuin,  doctor,  804. 


Eginhard,  historian,  about  842. 

Rabanus,  archbishop  of  Mentz,  856 
— Lupus,  abbot  of  Ferrieres,  doc- 
— tor,  862— Paschasius  Radbertus, 
doctor,  865. 

Anastasius,  the  librarian,  880. 

Photius,  first  author  of  the  Greek 
schism,  about  892 — Alphonso  III, 
king  of  Oviedo  in  Spain,  912. 


Rollo,  Norman  chieftain,  932. 

Abderame  III,  king  of  Cordova,  961 
— St.  Bruno,  archbishop  of  Co- 
logne and  statesman,  965 — Flodo- 
ardus,  historian,  966. 


Fernando  Gonzalez,  count,  sovereign 
of  Castile,  979— Mahomet  Alman- 
zor,  Saracen  general,  998. 

Sylvester  II,  (Gerbert),  pope.  1003. 
jfuy,  monk  of  Arezzo,  about  102& 
Fulbert,  bishop  of  Chartres,  102» 


538 


CHRONOLOGICAL    TABLE. 


A.  D.          MEMORABLE   EVENTS. 

1066  Battle  of  Hastings ;  England 
conquered  by  the  Normans. 

1085  Toledo  taken  from  the  Sara- 
cens. 

1095 "  Rise  of  the  kingdom  of  Portu- 
gal. 


REMARKABLE    PERSONAGES. 

St.  Peter  Damian,  cardinal  and  doo 

tor,  1072. 
St.  Gregory  VII,  (Hildebrand),  pope 

1085 — Lanfrancus,  archbishop  of 

Canterbury,  10S9. 
Rodriguez  Diaz-de-Bivar,  (El  CidJ 

general,  about  1095. 


PART    V. 


1095  Council  of  Clermont— First 
Crusade. 

1097  Siege  of  Nice,  and  battle  of 

Dorylaeum. 

1098  Siege  of  Antioch,  and  battle 

of  Orontes. 

1099  Siege  of  Jerusalem,  and  battle 

of  Ascalon. 

Kingdom  of  Jerusalem. 
Knights    Hospitallers   of   St. 

John. 

1118    Knights-Templars. 
1147     Second  Crusade. 

1169  British  enter  Ireland. 

1 170  Military  order  of  St.  James. 
^1187    The    Christians   defeated   V 

Saladin  in  the  battle  of  Ti- 
berias. 

Fall  of  the  Kingdom  of  Jeru- 
salem. 

1188    Third  Crusade. 

1190    Teutonic  Order. 

1196    Fourth  Crusade. 

1200    Fifth  Crusade. 

1204  Latin  empire  of  Constantino- 
ple. 

1212  Prodigious  victory  of  the 
Christians  of  Spain  over 
the  Moors  at  Murandal. 

1214  Battle  of  Bouvines,  in  which 
Philip  Augustus  conquers 
all  his  enemies. 

1217     Sixth  Crusade. 

1220  Battle  of  the  Jaxartes,  be- 
tween Genghis-Kan  and 
Sultan  Mohammed. 

1230  Opposite  parties  of  the  Guelfs 
and  Gibelins  in  Italy. — Ma- 
riner's compass,  invented 
some  time  before,  began  to 
be  used. 

1248    Seventh  Crusade. 


Adhe"mar  de  Monteil,  bishop  of  Puy, 
A.  D.  1098. 

Urban  II,  pope,  1099.— St.  Bruno, 
founder  of  the  Carthusian  Order, 
1101.— Raymond,  count  of  Tou- 
louse, 1105.— Robert,  earl  of  Flan- 
ders ;  and  Bohemond,  prince  of 
Tarentum  and  Antioch,  1111. — 
Tancred,  warrior,  1112. — Peter 
the  Hermit,  1115. — Robert,  duke 
of  Normandy,  1134. 

William  of  Malmesbury,  historian, 
towards  1150.— Suger,  abbot  of  St 
Denis,  1152.— St.  Bernard,  abbot 
of  Clairvaux,  1153. 

Nouradin,  conqueror,  1174. — Alex- 
ander III,  pope,  1181.— William, 
archbishop  of  Tyre,  historian, 
about  1191. — Saladin,  conqueror, 
1193. — Dandolo,  doge  of  Venice. 
1205.— Averroes,  Arabian  philoso- 
pher, 1206. 

Maimonides,  Jewish  rabbin,  1209. 

Villehardoin,  historian,  1212. 

Innocent  III,  pope,  1216. 

Simon  of  Montibrd,  general,  1218. 

St.  Dominic,  founder  of  the  Domini- 
cans,  1221. 

St.  Francis  of  Assisium,  founder  of 
the  Franciscans,  1226. 

Genghis  Kan,  Mogul  conqueror,  1227 


CHRONOLOGICAL    TABLE. 


539 


A..  D.          MEMORABLE    EVENTS. 

1250    Captivity  of  St.  Louis. 

1258  Bagdad  taken  by  the  Moguls ; 
end  of  the  Arabian  Cali- 
phate. 

1261  Fall  of  the  Latin  Empire  of 
Constantinople. 

1268    Eighth  and  last  Crusade. 

1270    Death  of  St.  Louis. 


REMARKABLE    PERSONAGES. 

Blanche  of  Castile,  queen.  1252. 
Matthew  Paris,  historian,  1259. 


PART   VI. 


1291  Final  overthrow  of  the  Chris- 
tian power  in  Syria — Inven- 
tion of  gun-powder  about 
this  time  ; — also,  according 
to  many,  of  the  magnifying 
glass  and  spectacles. 

1300     Rise  of  the  Ottoman  Empire. 

1308     Commencement  of  Swiss  in- 
dependence. 
Conquest  of  Rhodes  by  the 

Knights  of  St.  John. 
Suppression  of  the   Knights 

Templars. 

Battle  of  Bannockburn,  in 
which  the  Scots  signally 
defeated  the  English. 

1315  Battle  of  Morgarten,  which 
secured  the  independence 
of  Switzerland. 

1340  Awful  and  complete  over- 
throw of  the  Moors  at  Ta- 
rifa. 

1348  Universal  and  dreadful  pesti- 
lence. 

1340    Battles  of  Sluys,  1  5  . 

1346     Crecy,  Nevil's  Cross, 

1356     Poitiers, 

1367     Navarette.  J  |« 

1372  English  fleet  destroyed  by  the 
Spaniards  near  La  Rochelle. 

1396  Signal  defeat  of  the  Christians, 

at  Nicopolis. 

1397  Treaty  of  Calmar  for  the  union 

of  Denmark,  Sweden  and 
Norway. 

1402  Tremendous  battle  of  Ancyra 
between  Sultan  Bajazet  I 
and  Tamerlane. 

1429     Siege  of  Orleans. 

1140  Invention  of  the  art  of  print- 
ing. 


St.  Thomas  Aquinas  and  St.  Bona- 
venture,  doctors  of  the  church, 
1274. 

Charles  of  Aniou,  conqueror  of  Na- 
ples and  Sicily,  1285. 

Roger  Bacon,  mathematician,  astro- 
nomer, etc.,  1294. 


William  Tell,  warrior. 

Joinville,    historian,    1318 Dante, 

poet,    1321 — Robert    Bruce,  king 

of  Scotland,  1329. 


Petrarch,  poet,  1374-Edward,  prince 

of    Wales,    1377 Bertrand   du 

Guesclin,  general,  1380. 


Tamerlane,  the    Tartar    conqueror 

1405. 
Margaret,  queen  of  Sweden  and  Den 

mark,  1412. 


540 


CHRONOLOGICAL    TABLE. 


A.  D.         MEMORABLE   EVENTS. 

1450-1453    The  English  defeated  at 
Jourmigny  and  Cha- 
tillon — Lose  their  pos- 
sessions in  France. 
1453    Fall  of  Constantinople. 
1456    Siege  of  Belgrade — Mahomet 

repulsed  with  great  loss. 
1461    Destruction  of  the  empire  of 

Trebisond. 

1480    First  siege  of  Rhodes. 
1492    Extinction   of  the  power  of 
the  Moors  in  Spain. 


REMARKABLE    PERSONAGES. 

Joan  d'Arc,  the  maid  of  Orleans, 
1431. 

Hunniades,  general,  1456. 
Scanderbeg,  king  of  Albania,  1467. 
Guttemberg,    Faust,    Shoefter,    first 

printers. 

Thomas-a-Kempis,  1471. 
Warwick,  general,   1471 — Margaret 

of  Anjou,  queen  of  England,  1482. 
Matthias  Corvinus,  king  of  Hungary, 

1490. 


PART    VII. 


1492    Discovery  of  America. 
1497    Discovery    of    the    Northern 
American  continent. 

Discovery    of   the    Cape    of 
Good  Hope. 

League  of  Cambray. 

Battle  of  Marignan. 

The   Protestant  Reformation. 

Egypt  subdued  by  the  Turks. 
1519  ^  First  circumnavigation  of  the 

1521  (  Conquest  of  Mexico. 

1522  Second  siege  of  Rhodes. 
Battle    of  Pavia;    Francis  I 

taken  prisoner. 
First  siege  of  Vienna  by  the 

Turks. 
Malta  ceded  to  the  Knights 

of  St.  John. 


L497 

1509 

,1515 

1517 

1517 


1525 
1529 
1530 


1531 
1534 
1534 

1534 
1545 


the 


Conquest  of 

England    separates  from 
See  of  Rome. 

Foundation  of  the  Order  of 
the  Jesuits. 

Opening  of  the  Council  of 
Trent,  the  last  general  coun- 
cil. 


1556  Abdication  of  Charles  V. 

1557  The  French  defeated  by  the 

Spaniards,  at  St.  Quentin. 
1568    The    French    recover   Calais 
from  the  English. 


Picus,  prince  of  Mirandola,  1494 — 
Peter  d'Aubusson,  grand-master 
of  the  Order  of  St.  John,  1503— 

Christopher    Columbus,    1506 

Gonzalez  of  Cordova,  general, 
1512 — Bramante,  architect,  1514 
— Albuquerque  the  Great,  con- 
queror of  the  East  Indies,  1515 — 
Ximenes,  cardinal  and  statesman, 
1517 — Magellan,  1520 — Leo  X 
(Medicis),pope.  1521— Emmanuel 
the  Great,  king  of  Portugal,  1521 
Bayard,  warrior,  1524 — Vasco  de 
Gama,  1525. 

Zuinglius,  1531 — Ariosto,  poet,  1583 
— -Wolsey,  cardinal,  statesman, 

1533 Villiers    de   1'Isle  Adam, 

grand-master  of  the  Order  of  St. 
John,  1534 — Cajetan,  cardinal,  di- 
vine, 1534 Fisher,  bishop  of 

Rochester,  and  Thomas  Moore, 
chancellor,  1535 — Erasmus,  divine, 
1536— GarcUaso  de  la  Vega,  poet, 
1536- -Guicciardini,  historian,  1540. 

Francis  Pizarro,  conqueror,  1541 — 
Copernicus,  astronomer,  1543 — 
Luther,  1546 — Hernando  Cortez, 
conqueror,  1547 — St.  Francis  Xa- 
vier,  the  apostle  of  East-Indies 
and  Japan,  1552 — St.  Ignatius  of 
Loyola,  founder  of  the  society  of 
Jesus,  1556— Pole,  cardinal,  1558 
— Julius  Scaliger,  physician,  phi- 

losopher,    etc.,    1558 Cranmer 

1556 — Robert  Stephen,  printer, 
1559— Calvin,  1564. 


CHRONOLOGICAL    TABLE. 


541 


MEMORABLE    EVENTS. 


1565     Siege  of  Malta. 

1571  Battle  of  Lepanto. 

1572  Massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew's 

day. 

1580  Portugal  annexed  to  Spain. 

1581  Republic    of     Holland    pro- 

claimed. 

1582  Reformation  of  the  Calendar. 


1587 

1588 
1590 

1610  $ 
1620} 

1626 

1607  ^ 
1608^ 

1613 


Unjust  execution  of  Mary 
Stuart,  queen  of  Scotland. 

Defeat  of  the  Spanish  Armada. 

Invention  of  the  telescope  by 
Jansen. 

Invention  of  the  thermometer 
and  the  microscope  by  Dreb- 
bel. 

Invention  of  the  barometer  by 
Torricelli. 

Beginning  of  the  English  and 
French  settlements  in  North 
America. 

Foundation  of  New  Amster- 
dam, or  New  York. 


1630    Foundation  of  Boston. 

1634    Foundation  of  the  colony  of 

Maryland. 
1648    Treaty  of  Westphalia. 


1649 


King  Charles  I  beheaded. — 
Commonwealth  in  England. 


1688    Battle  of  Dunes. 
46 


REMARKABLE    PERSONAGES. 

Michael  Angelo,  painter  and  archi- 
tect, 1564 — V  ida,  poet,  1566— John 
la  Valette,  grand-master  of  St.  John, 
1563— S.  Piua  V,  pope,  1572— 
D.  Juan  of  Austria,  general,  1578 — 
Camoens,  poet,  1579 — Ferdinand 
Alvarez,  duke  of  Alva,  general, 
15S2— St.  Theresa,  foundress  of 
the  Carmelites,  15S2— St.  Charles 
Borromeo,  archbishop  of  Milan, 
1584 — Gregory  XIII,  pope,  15S5 
— F.  Louis  Granada,  divine,  1588 
— Sixtus  V,  pope,  1590. 

Alexander  Farnesius,  duke  of  Parma, 
general,  1592— Tasso,  poet,  1595 
— Drake,  admiral,  1596. 

Tyco-Brahe,  astronomer,  1601 — Ba- 
ronius,  cardinal,  historian,  1607 — 
Joseph  Scaliger,  historian,  poet, 
etc.,  1609— Casaubon,  historian, 
divine,  etc.,  1614 — F.  Alfonso 
Rodriguez,  divine,  1616— Shaks- 
peare,  dramatic  poet,  1616 — Cer- 
vantes, Spanish  writer,  about  the 
same  time — Suarez,  divine,  1617 
— Duperron,  cardinal,  controver. 
tist,  1618— Bellarmine,  cardinal, 
controvertist,  1621— St.  Francis  of 
Sales,  founder  of  the  Visitation. 
1622 — Mariana,  historian,  1624. 

Herrera,  historian,  1625 Bacon, 

philosopher,  divine,  1626. 


Kepler,  astronomer,-  1630— Spinola, 
general,  1630-Tilly,  general,  1632- 
Gustavus  Adolphus,  king  of  Swe- 
den, 1632- Walstein,  general,  1634. 

Cornelius  a  Lapide,  divine,  1637 — 
Jansenius,  1638— Rubens,  painter, 
1640— Sully,  statesman,  1641 — 
Richelieu,  cardinal,  statesman, 
1642 — Galileo,  astronomer,  1642 — 
Bentivoglio,  historian,  1644 — Gro- 
tius,  civilian,  divine,  1645 — Gerard 
Vossius,  historian,  1649 — Descar- 
tes, metaphysician,  philosopher, 
1650 — Montrose,  general,  1650 — 
Petavius,  divine,  historian,  etc., 
1652-Van-Tromp,  admiral,  1653- 
Usher,  historian,  1655 — Gassendi, 
mathematician,  philosopher,  1655 
— Blake,  admiral,  1657— Harvey, 
physician,  1657— St  Vincent  of 


542 


CHRONOLOGICAL    TABLE, 


A.  D.  MEMORABLE    EVENTS. 

1659  Treaty  of  Pyrenees  between 
France  and  Spain. 

1669  Conquest  of  Candia  by  the 
Turks. 

1672  Invasion  of  Holland  by  the 
French. 

1674     Battle  of  Senef. 

1674  C  Brilliant  campaigns  of  Turen- 

TC75£      ne  in  Alsace  and  Germany. 

i676  Sea-fights  near  Messina  be- 
tween the  French  and  the 
Dutch. 

1679    Peace  of  Nimeguen. 

1«80    Foundation  of  Charleston. 

1682  Foundation  of  Philadelphia. 

1683  Second  siege  of  Vienna ;  Turks 

repelled  with  immense  loss. 

1685  Revocation  of  the   Edict  of 

Nantes. 

1686  League  of  Augsburg. 
1688    Revolution  in  England. 
Ib90    Battle  of  Boyne  in  Ireland. 

Naval  battles  of  La  Manche 
1 590  and  La  Hogue ;  French  vic- 
1692  torious  in  the  first,  defeated 

in  the  second. 

1692  Splendid  victories  of  Marshal 
Luxembourg  over  the  allies 
at  Steinkirk  and  Nerwinde. 


1697    Peace    of  Riswick   between 

France,  England,  Germany 

and  Spain. 
1697    Decisive  battle   of  Zenta  in 

favor    of     the     Austrians 

against  the  Turks. 

1699  Peace  of  Carlo witz,  between 

the  Ottoman  Porte,  Austria, 
Venice  and  Poland. 

1700  Eight  thousand  Swedes  defeat 

eighty  thousand  Muscovites 

Inear  Narva. 

1701  War  for   the    succession  of 

Spain. 

1704    The  French  and  their  allies, 
defeated  at  Hochstadt. 

1706    Ramilies  and  Turin 

1708     Oudenarde. 

1709— -..Malplaquet. 

1707  Victorious  at  Almanza. 
1710     Villa- Viciosa. 

1712    Denain. 

1713  Peace  of  Utrecht. 


REMARKABLE    PERSONAGES. 

Paul,  founder  of  the  Lazarists,  and 
of  the  sisters  of  charity,  1660 — 
Mazarin,  cardinal  statesman,  1661 
— Pascal,  mathematician,  etc.,  1662 
— Bollandus,  historian,  1665- — 
Anne  of  Austria,  queen,  1666 — 
Moliere,  dramatist,  1673— Milton, 

poet,    1674 Turenne,    general, 

1575 — Kiuperli,  general  and  states- 
man, 1676 — Ruyter,  admiral,  1676 
— Monk,  general,  1679 — Montecu- 

culli,    general,     1680 Bernini, 

architect  and  sculptor,  1680— Col- 
bert, statesman,  16S3— Corneille, 
dramatist,  1684— Prince  of  Conde", 
general,  1686-Solis,  historian,  1686 
— Isaac  Vossius,  historian  and  phi- 
losopher, 1688 — Ducange,  histo 
rian,  1688 — Duquesne,  admiral, 

1658 Lebrun,  painter,    1690— 

Charles,  duke  of  Lorraine,  general, 
1690 — Boyle,  philosopher  and  di- 
vine, 1691. 


Puffendorf,  civilian,  1694 — Arnauld, 
controvertist,  1694. 

Tillotson,  orator,  1694 Huygens, 

mathematician,  astronomer,  1695 

— Nicole,  controvertist,  1695 

Thomassin,  divine,  1695 — Luxem- 
bourg, general,  1695— Lafontaine, 
poet,  1695 — Domat,  civilian,  1696 
—Madame  de.Se'vigne',  1696.— So- 
bieski,  king  of  Poland,  1696— Til- 
lemont,  historian,  1698-D'Orleans, 
historian,  1698— Racine,  dramatist, 
1699. 

Tourville,  admiral,  1701— Dryden, 
poet,  1701. 

Bossuet,  bishop  of  Meaux  1704 — 
Bourdaloue,  orator  and  divine, 
1704 — Locke,  philosopher,  1704— 

Bayle,  1706 Marshal  Vauban, 

1707 — Aureng-zeb,  Mogul  empe- 
ror, 1707 — Mabillon,  historian,  di- 
vine, etc.,  1707 — Flechier,  bishop 
of  Nismes,  1710 — Boileau,  poet, 
1711 — Dominic  Cassini,  astrono- 
mer, 1712 — Malebranche,  philoso- 
pher, metaphysician,  1715— Fene- 
IOD,  archbishop  of  Cambray,  1715. 


CHRONOLOGICAL    TABLE. 


543 


A.  P. 

1715 

1716 
1717 

1718 
1734 

1736 


1739 
'-    1740 

1745 
1746 

1748 
1752 


1755 
1757 

1759  C 

1760  1 
1765 

1775 

1776 
If77 
1781 
1783 


MEMORABLE    EVENTS. 

Regency  ot  the  Duke  of  Or- 

leans. 
Turks  signally  defeated  at  Pe- 

terwaradin  and  Belgrade  by 

prince  Eugene  of  Savoy. 
Treaty  of  Passarowitz. 
Naples  and  Sicily  gained  to 

the  house  of  Bourbon. 
Voyages  of  the  French  mathe- 

maticians to  the  North  and 

to  the  Equator,  for  the  pur- 

pose of  ascertaining  the  true 

figure  of  the  earth. 
Capture  and  plunder  of  Delhi, 

by  Thamas  Kouli  Kan. 
War    for    the    succession  of 

Austria. 

Battle  of  Fontenoy. 
The    Pretender    in    England 

and  Scotland. 

Treaty  of  Aix-la-Chapelle. 
Identity  of  lightning  and  elec- 

tricity ascertained  by  Fran- 

klin, at  Philadelphia. 
About  the  same  time,  inven- 

tion of  the  achromatic  tele- 

scope. 
Lisbon  laid  in  ruins  by  an 

earthquake. 
The  French  are  defeated  at 

Rosbach. 
The  French  lose  Quebec  and 

all  Canada. 
Stamp  act,  the  first  cause  of 

the  American  revolution. 
Battles  of  Lexington  and  Bun- 

ker-hill. 

Declaration  of  independence. 
Surrender  of  Burgoyne. 
Surrender  of  Cornwallis. 
Treaty  of  Paris  or  Versailles. 
British  troops  evacuate  New 
York  —  General    Washington 
resigns  his  commission   into 
the  Bands  of  Congress. 


REMARKABLE    PERSONAGES. 

Leibnitz,  mathematician,  divine,  etc., 
1716— Charles  XII,  king  of  Swe- 
den, 1718 — Addison,  poet,  etc., 

1719 Madame    de    Maintfnon* 

1719— Marlborough,  general,  1722 
— Kang  Hi,  Chinese  emperor,  1722 
— Prideaux,  historian,  1724 — New- 
ton, astronomer,  1727— Daniel,  his- 
torian, 1728 — Schelfmacher,  con- 
trovertist,  1733— Villars,  general, 
1734 — Ferreras,  historian,  1735 — 
Prince  Eugene  of  Savoy,  general, 
1736— Boerhaave,  physician,  1738 
— Polignac,  divine  and  statesman, 
1739. 

Rollin,  historian,  1741 — J.  B.  Rous- 
seau, poet,  1741— Montfaucon,  his- 
torian and  divine,  1741 — Halley, 
astronomer,  1742 — Massillon,  bish- 
op of  Clermont,  1743— Pope,  poet, 
1744— Thamas  Kouli  Kan,  the  Per- 
sian conqueror,  1747— Bernoulli, 

mathematician,   1748 Thomson, 

poet,  1748— Count  Saxe,  general, 
1750— Calmet,  divine,  1757-Bene- 
diet  XIV,  pope,  1758- Wolf,  Mont- 
calin,  generals,  1759. 


Clairaut,  mathematician,  1765. 

Goldsmith,  historian,  poet,  etc.,  1776 

—Hume,  1776 William  Pitt, 

Lord  Chatham,  statesman,  1778 — 
Lebeau,  historian,  1778 — Voltaire 
— J.  J.  Rousseau,  1778 — Linnseus, 
naturalist,  1778 — Warburton,  di- 
vine, 1779 — Cook,  the  navigator, 
1779 — Maria  Theresa,  empress, 
1780 — Blackstone,  civilian,  1780 
— Alban  Butler,  biographer,  1782 
— Berthier,  historian,  divine,  1782 
— Euler,  mathematician,  1783. 


544 


CHRONOLOGICAL    TABLE. 


PART  VIII. 


A..  D.  MEMORABLE    EVENTS. 

1783    Balloons  invented  by  Mont- 
golfier. 

During  the  following  years  of 
this  and  the  next  century, 
great  progress  of  the  natural 
sciences,  chemistry,  minera- 
logy, geology,  natural  his- 
tory ;  invention  of  rail-roads, 
steam-boats,  etc. 

Formation  of  the  Federal 
Constitution  of  the  United 
States. 

Federal  government  carried 
into  operation —  Washing- 
ton unanimously  elected 
president. 

Turkey  and  Poland  humbled 
and  almost  prostrated  by  the 
arms  of  the  Russians. 

French  revolution — Persecu- 
tion against  the  clergy  and 
nobles — Emigration. 

Battles  of  Jemmapes  and  Val- 
my;  the  Austrians  and 
Prussians  repelled  from  the 
French  territory. 

Death  of  Louis  XVI  and 
Marie  Antoinette  on  a  scaf- 
fold. 

The  first  general  coalition 
against  France. 

Battle  of  Fleurus— Fall  of  the 
tyrant  Robespierre. 

Total  dismemberment  of  Po- 
land  Holland  conquered 

by  the  French— The  Direc- 
tory—Rise of  Napoleon  Bo- 
naparte. 

Brilliant  campaign  of  Bona- 
parte in  Italy — Victories  of 
Lodi,  Arcola,  Rivoli — Cap- 
1797^      ture  of  Mantua — Treaty  of 
Campo-Formio— Extinction 
of  the  Venetian  republic. 
1798  'Ecclesiastical  State  occupied 
by  the  French — Pope  Pius 
VI  dragged  into  captivity 
and  exile. 

Second  coalition  against 
France. 


1787 
1789 


1787 
1793 

1789 
1792 

1792 


1793 

1793 
1794 
1795 


REMARKABLE    PERSONAGES. 


Dr.  Johnson,  1784 — Greene,  genera^ 
1786. 


Buffon,  naturalist,  1788. 

Franklin,  philosopher  and  statesman, 
1790 — Bergier,  divine,  1790-  - 
Laudon,  general,  1790 — Roman- 
zow,  general,  1790. 


Rodney,    admiral,    1792 Mozart, 

musical  composer,  1792 — Robert- 
son, historian,  1793— Gibbon,  1794 
— Lavoisier,  chemist,  1794. 


Wayne,  general,  1796— Burke,  states- 
man, 1797. 


CHRONOLOGICAL    TABLE. 


545 


A.  D.          MEMORABLE    EVENTS. 

Expedition  of  Bonaparte  in 
Egypt — Battle  of  the  Pyra- 
mids and  Aboukir. 

1799  Bonaparte,   on   his  return  to 

Paris,  becomes  the  head  of 
government  under  the  title 
of  Consul — Kingdom  of  Na- 
ples subdued  by  the  French, 
who  are  soon  after  driven 
from  Italy  by  Suwarrow. 

1800  Election  of  a  new  pope — Sit- 

ting of  the  American  Con- 
gress at  Washington  for  the 
first  time — Invention  of  the 
Galvanic  battery — Battle  of 
Marengo — Exploits  of  Gen- 
eral Moreau  in  Germany — 
Malta  surrenders  to  the 
English. 

1801  French   evacuate    Egypt 

Peace  of  Luneville  between 
France  and  Austria. 

1802  Treaty  of   Amiens    between 

England  and  France — Re- 
establishment  of  the  Catho- 
lic worship  in  France,  in 
virtue  of  aconcordate  passed 
the  year  before. 

1803  San-Domingo  entirely  lost  to 

the  French — Republic  of 
Hayti. 

1804  Napoleon  crowned  emperor. 

1805  Third  coalition— French  and 

Spanish  fleets  destroyed  at 
Trafalgar  by  Admiral  Nel- 
son. 
Signal  victories  of  the  French 

1805  At  Austerlitz,  over  the  Aus- 

trians. 

1806  . .  Jena,  over  the  Prussians. 

1807  . .  .Friedland,  over  the  Rus- 

sians. 

1807    Treaty  of  Tilsit. 
1807  C  Invasion  of  Portugal  and  Spain 
1808 1     by  the  French-Their  defeat 

at  Baylen — Siege  of  Sara- 


1809 


REMARKABLE    PERSONAGES. 


Pius  VI,  pope,  1799— Washington, 
first  president  of  the  United  States, 
1799— Patrick  Henry,  statesman, 
1799 — Saussure,  naturalist,  1799. 


Suwarrow,    general,    1800 Blair, 

rhetorician,  1800. 


Fourth  coalition — Prodigious 
efforts  of  the  Austrians  ren- 
dered unavailable  by  the 
courage  and  activity  of  Na- 
poleon— Battle  of  Wagram 
terminates  the  war — Peace 
of  Vienna— Attempt  of  the 
46* 


Feller,  biographer,  1802 — O'Leary, 
controvertist,  1802 — Gerdil,  cardi- 
nal, metaphysician,  divine,  etc., 
1802. 


Pichegm,  general,  1804 — Priestley, 
chemist,  1804. 


Nelson,  admiral,  1805. 

William  Pitt,  the  younger,  and 
Charles  J.  Fox,  orators  and  states- 
men, 1806 — Walker,  1807 — La- 
lande,  astronomer,  1807. 


Haydn,  musical  composer,  1809 
Lannes,  general,  1809. 


546 


CHRONOLOGICAL    TABLE. 


A.  D.  MEMORABLE    EVENTS. 

French  emperor  on  the  Ec- 
clesiastical State— Pope  and 
cardinals  persecuted. 

1812  America  declares  war  against 

England— Disastrous  cam- 
paign of  Napoleon  in  Russia. 

1813  Fifth  coalition— Campaign  of 

Saxony — French  victorious 
at  Lutzen,  Bautzen  and 
Dresden,  are  entirely  de- 
feated at  Leipzic,  and  lose 
all  their  conquests  in  Ger- 
many— Driven  also  from 
Spain  by  Wellington ;  bat- 
tle of  Vittoria— A  British 
flotilla  on  Lake  Erie  all 
captured  by  the  Americans. 

1814  New  defeat  of  the  English  on 

Lake  Champlain Victo- 
rious at  Washington,  they 
are  foiled  in  their  attempt 
on  Baltimore. 

Allies  enter  France — Abdica- 
tion of  Napoleon. 

1815  Second  American  war  closed 

by  the  signal  victory  of  New 
Orleans. 

Return  of  Napoleon  from  Elba 
— Sixth  coalition  against 
France — Decisive  battle  of 
Waterloo,  which  prostrates 
the  power  of  the  French 
emperor — His  second  fall, 
and  exile  to  St.  Helena. 

1816  Independence      of     Buenos- 

Ayres. 

1818    Independence  of  Chili. 

f Columbia. 

1820  I Bolivia. 

18241 Peru. 

^ Mexico. 

1820  Discovery  of  Electro-Magne- 
tism. 

1823  Civil  war  in  Spain — Success- 
ful exertions  of  the  French 
in  favor  of  Ferdinand  VII. 

1827  Naval  battle  of  Navarino, 
which  secured  the  indepen- 
dence of  Greece. 

1829  Emancipation  of  the  British 

Catholics. 

1830  Conquest  of  Algiers  by  the 

French— Revolution  of  July. 


REMARKABLE    PERSOKAGM. 


Koutousoff,  general,  1813 — Moreau, 
general,  1813 — Prince  Poniatow- 
ski,  1813. 


Berthier,  general,  1815 — Ney,  gene- 
ral, 1815— Murat,  king  of  Naples, 
1815 — Robert  Fulton,  the  inventor 
of  steam-boats,  1815. 

John  Carroll,  first  archbishop  of  Bal- 
timore, 1815. 


Sheridan,  orator  and  poet,  1816. 

Kosciusko,  general,  1817 — Massena, 
general,  1817— Blucher,  general, 
1819— Count  Stolberg,  historian, 

controvertist,  1819 Count  de 

Maistre,  statesman,  controvertist, 
1821 — Napoleon  Bonaparte,  the 
fallen  emperor  of  the  French,  1821 
— Castelreagh,  statesman,  1822 — 
Herschell,  astronomer,  1822 — Pius 
VII,  pope,  1823. 

Milner,  controvertist,  1826. 

Fifty  years  exactly  after  the  declara- 
tion of  independence,  Thomas  Jef- 
ferson and  John  Adams,  its  chief 
supporters  in  Congress,  die  both  on 
the  fourth  of  July,  1826— Laplace, 
astronomer,  1827 — Davy,  chemist, 
1829. 


CHRONOLOGICAL    TABLE. 


547 


A.  D. 

1833 


1S36 
1840 


1840 
1842 ' 

1843 
1844 

1845 

1846 

1847 

1848 


1849 


1650 

1851 
1854 


REMARKABLE    PERSONAGES. 

Bolivar,  general,  1830 — Cuvier,  natu- 
ralist,  1832 Lafayette,  general, 

1834— Humboldt,  geographer,  1835 
— Marshall,  chiefjustice,  historian, 
1835 — Bowditch,  astronomer,  1838 
— Talleyrand,  statesman,  1838 — 
Moehler,  controvertist,  1838. 


John  England,  bishop  of  Charleston, 
1842. 

Bernadotte,  king  of  Sweden,  1844 — 
Cardinal  Pacca,  statesman,  histo- 
rian, 1844. 

Jackson,  general,  and  former  president 
of  the  United  States,  1845. 


Vico,  astronomer,  1848. 

Berzelius,  chemist. 

Chateaubriand,  prose  writer  and  statei 


MEMORABLE    EVENTS. 

New  disturbances    in    Spain 

after  the  death  of  Ferdinand 

VII. 
Formation  of  the  republic  of 

Texas. 

Intervention  of  England,  Rus- 
sia, Austria  and  Prussia,  in 

favor  of  the  Turkish  sultan 

against  the  encroachments 

of  the  pacha  of  Egypt. 

:War  between  China  and  G. 
Britain,  terminates  to  the 
advantage  of  the  English. 

Fall  of  the  Regent  of  Spain, 
Espartero. 

Petition  for  the  annexation  of 
Texas,  laid  before  the  Ameri- 
can Congress. 

Annexation  of  Texas. 

Mexican  War— Victories  of  the 
Americans  at  Monterey, 
Buena  Vista,  Churubusco, 
&c. — Capture  of  Vera  Cruz 
and  Mexico. 

Peace  between  Mexico  and  tho 
United  States. 

Great  disturbances  in  Europe, 
especially  in  France,  Italy, 
and  Germany. 

France,  a  Republic. 

Signal  victories  of  the  Aus- 
trians  in  Italy  and  Hungary. 

Intervention  in  the  affairs  of 
Rome  —  The  factious  con- 
quered by  the  French — Re- 
storation of  the  Papal  go- 
vernment. 

Return  of  Pope  Pius  IX.  to 
Rome.  I  Wordsworth,  poet 

C<>up  d'etat  of  Louis  Napoleon  Taylor,  general,  and  president  o*  the 
— End  of  tho  French  republic.        United  States. 

War  between  the  Russians  and 
the  Turks  —  England  and 
France  declare  against  Rus- 
sia. 


Calhoun,  statesman,  1850. 


TABLE  OF  THE  AUTHORS  AND  WORKS, 


CHIEFLY  USED  IN  THE  COMPOSITION  OF  THIS  HISTORY. 


ALEXANDER  (NATALIS):  Historia  Ecck siastica,  8  vols.  folio,  Paris, 

1699 ;— the  6th  and  7th  vols.  have  been  used. 
AN<IUETIL:  Histoire  de  Frame,  6  vols.  8vo;  or  14  vols.  12mo. 
Precis  de  Vhistoire  vniverselle;  Paris  edition,  1818,  8  rols. 

8vo. 
AUGUSTINE  (Sr.) :  De  civitate  Dei,  7th  vol.  of  the  Benedictine  edition, 

folio  and  4to.  Paris  1679  and  1838. 
BALDASSARI:  Histoire  de  I'entevement  et  de  la  captivite"  de  Pie  VI, 

translated  from  the  Italian,  1  vol.  8vo. 
BANCROFT:  History  of  the   United  States,  3  vols.  8vo.  3d  edition, 

Boston,  1838. 
BERAUT-BERCASTEL  :  Histoire  de  I'Eglise,  12  vols.  8vo.  edition  of 

Pelier  de  Lacroix,  Paris,  1830; — Nearly  all  the  volumes  have  been 

used,  especially  the  notes  of  the  editor,  and  Discours  sur  k  second 

Age  de  I'Eglise,  at  the  end  of  the  12th  vol. 
BLETTERIE  (LA):  Histoire  de  Julien  VJlpostat,  1  vol.  12mo. 

Histoire  de  I'Empereur  Jovien,  I  vol.  12mo. 

BOSSUET:  Discours  sur  I'histoirt  universelle,  avec  la  continuation,  2 

vols.  12mo. 
BOUGEANT  (F.):  Histoire  du  traite  de  Westpludie,  6  vols.  12mo.  Paris, 

1744;  a  master-piece  in  almost  every  respect. 
BUTLER  (ALBAN):  Lives  of  the  Fathers,  Martyrs,  and  other  principal 

Saints,  the  notes  having  been  particularly  useful  j  London  edit. 

1756,  4  vols.  8vo.  bound  in  6— and  French  edit.,  translation  of 

Abbe  Godescard,  16  vols.  12mo.  Lille,  1824. 
CAVEYRAC  :  Jlpologis  de  Louis  XIV  et  de  son  Conseil  sur  la  revocation 

de  I'edit  de  Nantes,  and  Dissertation  sur  lajournee  de  la  St.  Barthe- 

kmi;  1  vol.  8vo. 

CLEMENCET  :  Jlrt  de  verifier  les  dates,  folio,  Paris,  1770. 
COYER:   Histoire  de  Jean  Sobieski,  roi  de  Pologne,  3  vols.   12rao. 

Warsaw,  1761. 


TABLE  OF  AUTHORS.  549 

CREVIER:  Histoire  des  Empereurs  Remains,  12  vols.  12mo.  Paris,  1763. 

DANIEL  (F):  Histoire  de  France,  3  vols.  folio,  Paris,  1713. 

JLbrege  de  Vhistoire  de  France,  12  vols.  12mo.  Paris, 

1751. 

DESORMEAUX:  dlbrege"  clironologique  de  Vhistoire  d'Espagne,  5  vols. 
12mb.  Paris,  1759.  This  author,  generally  exact  in  the  historical 
part,  is  frequently  wrong  and  unjust  in  his  remarks.' 

ESPAGNAC  :  Histoire  de  Maurice,  Comte  de  Saxe,  2  vols.  12rno.  Tou- 
louse, 1789. 

EUSEBIUS  :  Ecclesiast.  History,  translated  by  C.  F.  Cruse,  1  vol.  8vo. 
Philadelphia,  1834;  and  also,  together  with  the  Life  of  Constantino 
the  Great,  edit,  of  Henri  de  Valois  (Greek  and  Latin),  1  vol.  folio, 
Paris,  1659. 

FELLER  :  Dictionnaire  liistorique,  ou  Histoire  abr$gee  des  hommes  ctU- 
bres.  The  text  of  Feller  being  sometimes  altered  in  the  latest 
editions,  those  who  desire  to  have  it  pure  and  untouched,  should 
have  recourse  to  the  more  ancient  ones;  v.  g.  to  that  of  Lyons. 
1821,  12  vols.  8vo. 

FLECHIER:  Histoire  de  VEmpereur  Theodose-le-grand,  I  vol.  12mo. 

FLEURY:  Histoire  Ecclesiastique,  25  vols.  8vo.  Nismes,  1779. 

FRANTIN  :  Jltinahs  du  Moyen  &ge,  8  vols.  8vo.  Paris,  1825. 

FROST:  Histoi-y  of  the  United  States,  1  vol.  12mo.  Philadelphia,  1841. 

G.***  (M.) :    Pouvoir  du  Pape  au  moyen  Age,  1  vol.  8vo.  Paris,  1839. 

GAHAN:  History  of  the  Church,  1  vol.  12mo.;  short,  and  having  some 
little  inaccuracies,  yet  generally  full  of  sound  information. 

GREGORY  OF  TOURS  (ST.):  Historice  Francorum  lAbri  decem,  1  vol. 
small  8vo.  Paris,  1561. 

GUYARD  DE  BERVILLE:  Histoire  de  Bertrand  Duguesclin,  2  vols. 
12mo. 

Histoire  de  la  Revolution  Francaise,  1  vol,  12mo.  Paris,  1838. 

Histoire  de  VEglise  Gallicane,  remarkable  for  soundness  of  criticism 
and  purity  of  style;  18  vols.  8vo.  Nismes,  1780-81. 

Histoire  de  Venise,  1  vol.  12mo.  Tours,  1839. 

Histoire  du  Bos-Empire  (A.  M.  ss.  c.  G.):  2  vols.  8vo.  Paris,  1838. 

Histoire  Universette  (translated  from  the  English),  125  vols.  8vo. 
Paris,  1779.  The  volumes  containing  the  history  of  the  Arabs, 
the  Tartars,  the  Ottomans,  America,  Spain,  England,  France  and 
Germany,  have  been  particularly  useful. 

History  of  the  United  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  2  vols. 
12mo.  Cork,  1815. 

HURTER:  Histoire  du  Pape  Innocent  III,  translated  from  the  German 
by  Alexandre  de  St.  Cheron,  3  vols.  8vo.  Paris,  1838. 

IRVING  (WASHINGTON):  History  of  the  Life  and  Voyages  of  Christo- 
pJier  Columbus,  2  vok  8vo.  New  York,  1831. 


550  TABLE  OF  AUTHORS. 

IRVING  (WASHINGTON)  :  Conquest  of  Granada,  2  vols.  12mo.  Phil* 
,     delphia,  1839. 

JOSEPHUS,  the  Jewish  historian :  last  book  of  his  Antiquities,  and  the 
seven  books  of  his  Jewish  War ;  English  translation  of  Whitson, 
or  French  of  Arnaud  d'Andilly. 

KENT  (CHANCELLOR):  vol.  1.  of  his  Commentaries  on  Law,  2d  edi- 
tion, 4  vols.*8vo.  New  York,  1832. 

LAEBE  :  Sfacrosancta  Concilia,  vols.  x  and  xi. 

LACROIX:  Geographic,  2  vols.  12mo.;  too  old  as  a  geographical  work, 
yet  full  of  information. 

LACTANTIUS:  De  morte  Perseculorum;  to  be  found  in  the  end  of  the 
16th  and  last  vol.  of  the  Lives  of  the  Saints,  Lille,  1824. 

LADVOCAT;  Dictionnaire  historique,  2  vols.  8vo.  Paris,  1755. 

LA  HARPE  :  JHyrtge  de  Phistoire  des  voyages,  continued  by  Baron  de 
Roujoux;  30  vols.  8vo.  Paris,  1830. 

LEBEAU:  Histoire  du  Bas-Empire,  29  vols.  12mo.  Paris,  1757.  This 
work,  and  that  of  Frantin,  mentioned  above,  although  generally 
excellent  and  very  well  written,  are  not  to  be  implicitly  relied  on 
in  the  remarks  and  judgments  which  they  contain  about  different 
transactions  and  personages;  their  authors  having  too  easily  fol- 
lowed the  prejudices  of  their  time  concerning  certain  historical 
points  of  great  importance. 

LEBRUN:  ^ventures  et  conquetes  de  Fernand  Cortez,  1  vol.  12mo. 
Tours,  1839. 

.  .  .    Conquete  du  Perou  et  Histoire  de  Pizarre,  1  vol.   12mo. 
Tours,  1840. 

LEFRANC:  Histoire  du  Moyen  Age,  1  vol.  12mo. 

Histoire  Moderne,  2  vols.  12mo.  Lyons,  1840. 

Histoire  de  France,  2  vols.  12mo.  Lyons,  1838. 

LENGLET  DU  FRESNO  Y  :  Tallettes  chronologiques  de  I'histoire  tmu*r- 
selle,  2  vols.  12mo.  Paris,  1744. 

LINGARD:  Antiquities  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  Church;  either  the  London 

edition,  1810,  or  the  first  American  edition,  Philadelphia. 
Histoi~y  of  England,  14  vols.  8vo.  London,  1825. 

LORI^UET  (F.):  Histoire  de  France,  2  vols.  12mo. 

MAISTRE  (COUNT  DE):  Du  Pape,  2  vols.  8vo.  Lyons,  1819. 

Lettres   sur    V 'Inquisition    Espagnole,   1    vol. 

8vo.  Paris,  1822. 

MARLES:  Histoire  de  Marie  Stuart,  Reine  d'Ecosse,  1  vol.  12mo. 
Tours,  1840. 

MARSHALL:  Colonial  History,  1  vol.  8vo.  Philadelphia,  1824. 
Life  of  Washington,  2  vols.  8vo.  Philadelphia,  1832. 

MARSOLLIER:  Histoire  du  ministere  du  Cardinal  Ximenes,  2  vola. 
12mo.  Paris,  1704. 


TABLE  OF  AUTHORS.  55] 

MICHAUT:  Histoire  des  Croisades,  4th  edition,  6  vols.  8vo.  Paris,  1825. 
MIGNOT:  Histoire  de  Vempire  Ottoman,  1  vol.  4to,  or  4  vols.  12mo. 

1771. 
MAME.  edit.  Histoire  de.  Vempereur  Charles-Quint     1     vol.     Tours. 

12mo.  J738. 

MOORE:  ffistory  of  Ireland,  1  vol.  8vo. 
MYLIUS:  History  of  England,  1  vol.  12mo. 
NONNOTTE:  Erreurs  de  Voltaire,  2  vols.  12mo.  Besanson,  1818. 
ORLEANS  (F.  D')  :  Histoire  des  Revolutions  d'Angkterre,  4  vols.  12mo. 

Amsterdam,  1766. 
Histoire  des  Revolutions  d'Espagne,  from  the  best 

Spanish  historians,  MARIANA  and  others;  3  vols.  4to.  Paris,  1734. 
PACCA:  Memoiresdu  Cardinal  Paccamrlacaptivite  du  Pape  Pie  VII, 

translated  from  the  Italian,  2  vols.  8vo.  Paris,  1833. 
PEREFIXE  :  Histoire  de  Henri  le  Grand,  roi  de  France  et  de  Navarre, 

1  vol.  12mo. 

PITAVIUS  :  Rationarium  Temporwn,  2  vols.  12mo.  Paris,  1703. 
PROYART:  Vie  du  Dauphin  (Duke  of  Burgundy),  pire  de  Louis  XV, 

2  vols.  12mo. 

Histoire  de  Stanislas,  roi  de  Pologne,  due  de  Lorraine  et 

de  Bar,  1  vol.  12mo. 

RAGUENET:  Histoire  du  Vicomte  de  Turenne,  1  vol.  12mo. 
ROBERTSON:  History  of  America,  2  vols.  4to.  London,  1777. 
of  the  reign  of  the  emperor  Charles  V,  3  vols. 

8vo.  2d  American  edition,  Philadelphia,  1812. 
ROSCOE:  The  life  and  pontificate  of  Leo  X,  4  vols.  8vo.  Philadelphia, 

1805. 
ROT  :  Histoire  de  Charlemagne,  1  vol.  12mo.  Tours,  1838. 

de  Jeanne  d'Arc,  1  vol.  12mo.  Tours,  1840. 

SADLER:  Lingard's  History  of  England  continued,  1  vol.  12mo.  Pans, 

1836. 
SIDONIUS  APOLLINARIS  :  Epistolcs  et  Carmina,  edit.  Sirmondi,  Paris, 

1614. 
SOCRATES  and  SOZOMENES,  Greek  historians,  edit,  of  Henri  de  Valois, 

1  vol.  folio,  Paris,  1668. 

SOLIS  :  Conquista  de  la  Nueva  J&mana.  I  vol.  4to. 
SUETONIUS:  Duodecim  Ccesares,  2  vois.  8vo.,  which  are  the  98th  and 

99th  of  the  Collection  of  Classics,  or  Bibliotheca  Latina  Clastica, 

Paris,  1828. 
STTLPITIUS  SEVERUS  :  Historice  Same  libri  duo,  1  vol.  18mo.  edit,  of 

Mercier,  Paris,  1659. 
TACITUS,  the  gravest,  the  most  concise  and  energetic  of  historians, 

1  vol.  12mo,    in  the  edition  of  Lallemant. — 4  vols.8vo,  in  the  Col- 
lection of  Classics,  from  vol.  100  to  104. 


552  TABLE  OF  AUTHORS. 


TERTULLIAN  :  Jlpologeticus  adversus  gentes  et  de  Prcescriptionibus  ad 

versus  hcer. ;  1  vol.  8vo.  Paris,  1828. 

THEODORET,  Greek  historian,  edit,  of  Henri  de  Valois,  Paris,  1673. 
THOMASSIN:  Discipline  de  I'Eglise,  3  folios,  Paris,  1725;  particularly 

the  first  book  of  vol.  n,  ch.  xcii — cii. 
TILLEMONT  (LE  NAIN  DE)  :  Histoire  dcs  Erapereurs,  6  vols.  4to.  Paris, 

1690;  so  learned,  and  so  exact  in  his  continual  quotations  of  ancient 

authors,  that,  for  the  historical  parts  of  which  he  treats,  he  can 

supply  the  deficiency  of  all  other  historians. 
VELLEIUS  PATERCULUS:  Historic  libri  duo;    1  vol.  12mo.  edit,  of 

Abbe  Paul,  or  the  125th  vol:  8vo.  in  the  Collection  of  Classics. 
VERTOT:  Histoire  des  Revolutions  de  Portugal,  1  vol.  12mo. 

des  Chevaliers  deMalte,abre<ree  en  1  vol.  12mo.  Tours,  1837. 

VOIGT:  Histoire  du  Pope  Gregoire  VII,  translated  from  the  German. 

by  Abbe  Jager,  2  vols.  8vo.  Pmris,  1838. 
VOLTAIRE  :  Histoire  de  Charles  XII,  1  vol.  12mo. 
WALTER  SCOTT:  The  life  of  Napoleon  Bonaparte,  2  vols.  8vo.  Exete', 

1839. 

WILSON:  History  of  the  American  Revolution,  1  vol.  12mo.  Bald- 
more,  1834. 

Many  other  works  have  been  occasionally  resorted -to  and  consulted, 
which  we  purposely  omit  mentioning,  because  their  enumeration 
would  be  of  little  or  no  utility  to  the  reader. 

It  is  almost  superfluous  to  observe,  that  several  of  the  authors  here 
mentioned,  v.  g.  Roscoe,  Walter  Scott,  Robertson,  etc.,  have  been 
resorted  to  as  historians,  but  not  as  politicians  or  philosophers ;  and 
have  been  followed  when  they  relate  well-substantiated  facts,  but  not 
when  they  bring  forward  their  own  private  views  and  religious 
prejudices. 

\  S'"* 


THE    END. 


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